A Twisted Game
by Shadow Oblivion
Summary: Kidd felt that he had waited for far too long. While it had been difficult to regain Law's attention, that was only the beginning of his troubles. Kidd didn't realize a single decision made in the past would lead to consequences now. And it would soon come back to haunt them both, and Kidd and Law would find it difficult to deal with, as there was nowhere left for them to run.[AU]
1. Prologue

I recall saying that I wanted to write an AU Kidd x Law at the end of one of my other fanfics. I just didn't realize that it was going to be a darker and more violent one, rather than a humorous and fluffy one. One of the only other A/N's I'll do is at the end of the next chapter.

Warnings: m x m, non con, dub con, blood and gore, bondage (and there are a few others that will go at the beginning of a chapter when relevant).

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from One Piece. I just apparently enjoy tormenting the characters in different situations.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Kidd had been the one to initiate their occasional encounters in the beginning. That was before the good doctor had decided to show the red head that he was just as twisted, if not more so, than Kidd himself.

It had started out slowly at first, before their interactions became more frequent, and subsequently much more violent. Especially once the two of them realized just how much they got off on causing one another physical harm.

Kidd enjoyed their little encounters more than he would admit. Every single one brought out more of a monster in each of them, and the fact that it didn't bother either of them made it even better. The decision to become lovers was when the real fun had begun. After that, there was no stopping either of them from going further than most would dare.

Until one day it did go a bit father than either of them had anticipated.

-x

_Kidd grunted as he collapsed onto the ground, where he lay gasping for air. He managed to let out a wheeze of amusement at his lover's actions. Fucking bastard just loved to drag him outside sometimes to play another of their little twisted games._

"_What are you lying down for? Are you done already?"_

_Kidd lifted his head at the half amused, half dark query. The redhead forced himself upright, despite all of the horrendous wounds that had been piled onto him during their first two sessions that night. Kidd locked eyes with the man standing a few dozen feet away, and offered him a wicked smirk. Kidd just loved the way his lover's warped mind worked. It was one of the reasons that Kidd had been attracted to him in the first place. After all, Law had been the only one who wanted to play with him after the first violent night. Most of the lovers Kidd had come across in the past had either run off the next morning, or ended up dead because they couldn't take the damage he had dealt out._

_Kidd staggered forward a few feet, before he had to stop and sway in place, as a wave of dizziness hit him. He vaguely heard his lover steal up behind him, before a slender arm looped around his waist and helped him along. Kidd's smile darkened in amusement. He was only helping him along to the next stage of the game. _

_Kidd felt he must have blacked out a bit, because the next thing he knew, he was falling into the pond that was behind his house. Kidd flailed for a moment, before he felt a slim hand dig into his hair. Kidd spit out some water and looked up at the one doing the motion. The red head's smirk mirrored the one on the doctor's face; both were anticipating the more dangerous aspects of their relationship. Kidd took a breath before he was shoved back under the water. He had caught a glimpse of a rather psychotic grin as he went under. It didn't bother Kidd. It only turned him on more knowing that his lover was getting aroused by taking away his air supply. _

_Kidd only began to wonder if it was going a little too far this time, when he could no longer hold his breath, and was forced to open his mouth underwater in a rush of air bubbles. The oxygen gone, Kidd began to take in mouthfuls of the dirty pond water. Kidd felt the hand in his hair tighten, forcing him to remain underwater. Kidd thrashed, desperate for air. He just knew that Law would be enjoying this. _

_It was sometimes annoying that the other derived pleasure from nearly drowning him on occasion. The red head was so going to do something to Law in return for this. Kidd's vision began to go dark. What the fuck did the other man think he was doing? Kidd tried one more to force himself up, but failed. _

_He only took in more water, until…_

_-x_

Kidd sat bolt upright in bed, taking in a sharp, harsh gasp of air as he whipped his head back and forth wildly. He only relaxed marginally when he latched on to the fact that he was not underwater, and was, in fact, in bed. He was also quite dry. Kidd ran a hand through messy red hair as he let out a sigh and glanced to the side. He scowled at the sight. All alone. Kidd snorted, unsurprised. It just figured that that bastard would leave him before he woke up. Kidd lay back down, staring up at the ceiling of the bedroom moodily. He didn't hold it too much against Law for leaving before he's awoken. The red head knew that he would come back. Kidd knew that the doctor enjoyed their time together, and the thrills and danger that came along with it.

Kidd stretched. His lover could play doctor all he wanted, but Kidd knew that he would always come back to him.

Only, he didn't.

Kidd went about his day, unsurprised by the fact that his dark haired lover hadn't come slinking back yet. The smart bastard probably knew what Kidd had planned for revenge in response to almost drowning him.

Kidd still wasn't surprised by Law's absence for the first week.

That was when weeks turned into months, and by then Kidd had started to wonder where the fuck he'd gotten to.

Even more time passed, and Kidd was left to ponder why the other man was taking so long to come back. Kidd had even begun to try and figure out if he had done something wrong that had made the doctor stay away from him.

Kidd reclined in bed, lifting a hand to stifle a bit of a rattling, and rather wet, cough. Kidd frowned. Maybe he'd ingested a lot more water, and Law hadn't gotten it all out of him after doing CPR. Kidd's frown deepened. That didn't seem right, considering the incident had happened months ago. He had better not be getting sick. That would fucking suck, and was completely unacceptable. He never got sick.

Kidd glanced out a window as he dropped his hand to his side. As long as the doctor wasn't breaking things off with him, Kidd could be very patient when he wanted to be. Kidd bared his teeth in an amusement. No one 'broke up' with Eustass Kidd, unless they had a death wish. Law certainly seemed to have one, but had joked around that it wouldn't be Kidd that would kill him, but someone realizing that he'd been pawning off patient organs when no one was checking on the deceased.

Kidd looked away from the window with a nasty smirk.

No, Law definitely wasn't one to break ties off out of the blue. He would come back, one way or another. That Kidd knew for certain. Kidd's smile turned into dark anticipation, as he clenched and unclenched his artificial left limb. Another souvenir from one of his and Law's sick games. At least the doctor had managed to find something that more or less functioned as a limb. Kidd clenched the hand into a fist. He and the doctor were going to have a long 'chat' when he finally showed his face again.

Kidd let out a low, and very dark, laugh. That 'chat' wouldn't bother either of them, though his lover might come out a bit more wounded than he might have normally expected. He wouldn't mind. Kidd knew that he and Law were both very twisted individuals, who enjoyed their dangerous and almost always potentially lethal attraction to one another.

Kidd closed his eyes. He would surprise Law by not going out to hunt for him. It'd be a laugh when the doctor came back, and realized that Kidd had been waiting for him to return. Kidd didn't care how long it would take.

It was their sick, twisted little game and theirs alone. Kidd would let no one and nothing change that.

Not even time would prevent Kidd from exacting well deserved revenge against the doctor. He wasn't about to let Law get away with nearly drowning him this time around. It had been much closer than the previous few times, and Kidd had had enough of it.

Kidd_ would_ see his sadistic lover again. He just had to go through the boring phase of waiting.

And waiting.

And waiting some more.

Kidd found himself to be doing a lot of that, and he grew to hate it the longer he was forced to go through each day without any sign of the doctor returning.

Waiting.

And waiting.

And waiting...

Always waiting, until finally, _finally_, Kidd reached a day that he didn't have to wait anymore. Because Kidd had seen him.

Seen him standing just outside the front door, as if he was about to walk inside as though he owned the place.

After being forced to wait so long, Kidd didn't particularly give a fuck where the son of a bitch had run off to.

All that mattered was that the doctor had finally come back to him. It didn't matter to the red head that all he was likely to get was a secretive and wry smile in response to any attempts to figure out where he had been all this time. Kidd just knew, at that point in time, that he wasn't going to ever let Law out of his sight. Kidd was never going to go through all of that waiting and wondering ever again.

Never again would he ever be so patient.

Never.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

The next chapter will be up at some point today. It just needed a bit more editing.


	2. Ch 1: Renters Beware

Trafalgar Law eyed the run down house with a bit of trepidation. It was not quite what he had expected, but then again, nothing ever was. Especially when it was something that involved his boss. Nothing that flashy bastard ever said was quite the truth, but it wasn't exactly a lie either. Law had been told that the house was up for rent, and rather cheaply, by a colleague of his. Law scoffed soflty at the very idea.

Business partner in something illegal was far more likely. Doflamingo did love to pretend that he was a law abiding citizen. It always pissed the cops off to no end when they could never pin any criminal acts on him. Law knew for a fact that the blond had many layers of network and fake cover stories that prevented the authorities from ever figuring out what exactly it was that he actually did for a living. Law supposed that was just as well, because he had no desire to have the cops track him down and demand that he spill the beans on his boss. That would be unpleasant, and Law didn't feel like spending the rest of his life in jail for something like that.

"Doflamingo said you would show up. What do you think of it?"

Law stopped eying the house with distaste as he casually glanced to the side. He soon spotted the speaker, a tall violet-haired man who was headed toward him at a laidback pace. Law looked away as he eyed the house, and appraised it silently once more, before he commented dryly, "It's more run down than I imagined it would be."

The older man gave the younger an irritated look as he bit down on a cigar, "It's cheap, and your boyfriend said you'd rather be close to a majority of the work places that you applied for."

Law shook his head, unamused with the other man's words, "Doflamingo-ya is not my boyfriend, Crocodile." Why everyone seemed to think that was the case, Law doubted he would ever know. Working for the man on occasion may have led to the rumors, but that was all they were. Rumors.

"Not from what I've heard. Just because he's your boss doesn't mean he won't try to make that happen." Crocodile gave Law a look, as if he were wasting his time, "Did I come all the way here for nothing, or do you want to rent the damn place?" He was going to give Doflamingo hell if Law ended up leaving without deciding to rent. Crocodile already despised renting any of the places he owned, and only moderately tolerated someone that the blond, pink wearing freak recommended to him. In that they would actually pay the rent and wouldn't run off in the middle of the night.

Law set aside the whole 'was his boss his boyfriend' thing for the moment as he jerked his head in a nod, "It is close to several places I applied for." He only hoped he could get into one of them. Law indicated the house with a tilt of his head, "I want to see what it looks like inside. I may be the main renter, but a friend of a friend of mine is going to dump two teens on me until their house is renovated."

Crocodile considered upping the payment for each month then and there, as Doflamingo had made no mentions of three people living in the house. Just one. Puffing on his cigar irritably, Crocodile shove past Law to open the front door, mumbling something under his breath about damn brats racing around and breaking things.

Law decided to not say anything about the rough gesture, mainly because he didn't like the idea of the other man menacing him with the hook in place of his left hand. As a doctor, or more specifically, a surgeon, Law was fascinated with what could have caused the injury. Not to mention he was curious about the scar that went across the bridge of Crocodile's nose, from one side of the face to the other in a straight line.

"Are you coming in or what?" The violet haired man grumbled aloud over one shoulder. He'd have thought a doctor would have been smarter than this, and again made a mental note to give Doflamingo hell anyway for making him deal with some hotshot son of a bitch.

"Yes..." Law forced the thoughts away and walked into the house, and past Crocodile, to survey the interior of the place he was considering renting for a few months. Crocodile waited near the front of the house as Law wandered around the place. It was in surprisingly good condition, considering the state the house was in from the outside. He was honestly surprised that the plumbing and electricity, as well as all of the appliances in the kitchen appeared to be in good working order. There were certainly a few things that could be improved, but overall, it was satisfactory, and for what Crocodile had asked for a month, it was a good deal. Law wouldn't even need to do any of the repairs, as he was only staying for a short while.

Law studied the bedrooms on the upper floor, and knew that the larger one with the four poster, King sized bed was going to be his. The teens that were staying with could complain all they wanted about the twin beds in the other room. They were lucky enough to be getting a place to stay in the first place. Law stepped into the larger master bedroom, and stared out the window silently. It was a good view. Law felt a faint chill as he left the bedroom, but it was gone as soon as he headed down the stairs. He took a quick peek out the back door, a little surprised to see a pond, and the sight of a tall fence enclosing the backyard property. Doflamingo hadn't mentioned that detail. Law turned and headed back to the front entryway to the house, where Crocodile stood waiting. When Law noticed that the other man was giving him a questioning look, Law shrugged his shoulders, "It will do."

Crocodile laughed, "Doflamingo didn't mention that you were such a sarcastic ass." He really hated those kind of people, but as long as he was paid, he only had to put up with Law once a month.

"Doflamingo-ya doesn't say a lot about me without me knowing about it." Law responded absently, as he felt a cool breeze again. It stopped almost immediately, so the surgeon didn't mention it to Crocodile. Law could already tell the other man was wavering between renting out the house to him or telling him to get the fuck out and go elsewhere.

Since he wasn't sure if he could find another renter so soon, Crocodile relented, and decided to take what he could get, "I've got some papers in the car. I think we're going to have to discuss some insurance in case the brats coming to stay with you break anything." Crocodile walked outside, before he half turned to grin patronizingly at Law, "I bet Doflamingo is disappointed you didn't go to live with him at his house."

Law threw Crocodile a dark look, reminding without words that he didn't like the implied relationship in the statement.

Crocodile laughed again as he left the house, "Come on doctor, let's just go get the signatures, details and the money taken care of."

Law took a step forward, before he stumbled to a halt and winced, his left hand going to his right arm. Law glanced down at the limb in question, and frowned at it as he rubbed it absently. It almost felt as if someone had grabbed him. Law silently surveyed the area around him. There was nothing there. He shook his head. Jet lag. That must be the main issue. He'd flown over ten hours to get to this place. Law felt that he must just be overly tired and imagining things. The surgeon exited the house and closed the door behind him.

As Law headed over to Crocodile's car, where the other man was sorting through some papers, Law didn't hear the crash that resounded throughout the house behind him. It had almost sounded as if someone had let loose a loud snarl of absolute and utter fury, and had begun smashing things in response to that anger.

Law signed some of the papers, argued with Crocodile over some finer points, before money was settled on, and the two parted ways. Law turned to look at the house, idly twirling the key to the front door. A few months, and he would hopefully have a job, and would be able to afford something much nicer. He could live with this run down monstrosity until then.

Law smirked. He didn't have to worry about things breaking down. He'd managed to get Crocodile to agree to paying for anything that stopped functioning. It was the violet haired man's house anyway. He could do the repairs. Law's smile thinned as he ran a hand absently over his right arm, before staring at the house again pensively as a thought crossed his mind. It _was_ an older house that had been around much longer than those in the rest of the neighborhood...

Law stopped the thought abruptly, shaking his head at himself. He walked to the side of the curb where he'd left his belongings, before he turned and headed back for the front door. He didn't have anything to worry about other than landing a job.

It wasn't like the house was haunted or anything.

-x

Kidd watched his lover standing just outside of the house with a scowl. It looked like he was thinking about something. Well, the red head was thinking too. Thinking that he hated that he had been ignored so completely. Kidd's scowl deepened. And not only that, but the older man that had ben with Law had mentioned something about a boyfriend. Kidd's hands curled into fists, displeased. That meant that Law had been seeing someone other than him in the time that he'd been away.

Breaking things around the house had only marginally calmed the red head. It wasn't enough.

Kidd's eyes bored into Law's, even though he knew the other man wasn't looking up at him. The red head was going to make his dark haired lover pay for this. Pay for making him wait for such a very long time. Kidd was going to make him beg and scream for as long as he liked. He might even consider stopping if the other man pleaded with him to do so. But Kidd wouldn't stop. Not until he'd let out all of the pent up aggression and frustration of being abandoned for so long ingrain itself into his lover. And then Kidd would punish him for the fact that Law seemed to have been cheating on him during his long absence.

And Kidd would keep punishing him, all the while making him writhe and scream. The red head loved to hear him scream. Kidd would continue to be relentless until Law realized just how much he had hurt and betrayed the other by his absence. Kidd might relent, eventually, and perhaps even forgive Law for seeing someone else, and for leaving him alone in the first place.

But Kidd would only forgive him after making Law promise to never leave him again. Maybe they could even kill his boyfriend while they were at it.

Kidd walked away from the window once more and headed for the bedroom door.

Yes, that was what he was going to do. Law would understand what he had planned. After all, the two of them were of a similar mind, and somewhere deep inside, the doctor would enjoy the things the red head had planned. He would enjoy them just as much, if not more, than Kidd already knew he would. It excited him to think and plan the unseen boyfriend's death.

Reluctantly, Kidd put aside those dark and violent thoughts as he leaned against the upstairs railing, eyes on the front door. The first thing Kidd was going to have to do was make Law pay attention to him. The red head was not going to tolerate his lover acting as if he hadn't been standing right next to him just minutes ago. Kidd had even tried to grab Law's arm to get his attention, but the dark haired doctor had walked out of the house anyway. Not even a word left his lips.

A wicked smile split Kidd's lips.

If Law wanted to play hard to get, then Kidd was more than happy to be the one to start one of their many games again. It had been such a long time since their last one, and Kidd was eager to begin.

He _would_ have Law all to himself, one way or another.

Time was no longer an issue, and it was only a matter of time before Law would acknowledge his presence.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

This is the only A/N I'll post until the end of the last chapter, unless someone says something in a review that needs to be addressed or answered.

Ok then…

One, I apologize in advance for any horror clichés. While I have watched and read some, there are many more that I haven't had the chance to get to yet.

Two, I'm thinking that this is going to be an incredibly sick, twisted and messed up fanfic. It's going to escalate at a rapid pace, so I doubt it's going to be a long story. I already have the last chapter finished, and it's probably one of the most fucked up endings I've ever written for a fanfic. If I had to guess, I'd say the story will be anywhere from 15-25 chapters, because they'll be shorter (between 1500-2500 words a chapter).

I've been watching/reading far too many horror movies/books (and video games) and I felt the need to write a more violent story for some stupid reason. Plus I wanted to write a love/hate relationship, and I like the different ways the Kidd x Law pairing can be done.


	3. Ch 2: Three's a Crowd

Ace could not wait until he turned eighteen. His birthday couldn't come soon enough. If it weren't for his younger brother, Ace would have already been long gone. The teen automatically stepped to one side as the aforementioned brother came bolting out of the car parked by the sidewalk. Ace couldn't help but smile at his little brother's enthused expression at the prospect of being in a house without their grandfather breathing down their necks. One of the downfalls of having a cop as a relative. Always making sure the 'kids' were doing the right thing, and not straying down the path of a miscreant.

Luffy studied the house with barely contained excitement, "Do you think there are ghosts in there? It looks like it should have them. That'd be cool, right?"

Ace laughed at the very idea. The ideas that went through that kid's mind were, at times, overly imaginative. Not that that was a bad thing. Delusions of grandeur, something the two brothers both shared, was something far more appealing than their reality. Ace rolled his bare shoulders in a shrug, when he noticed that Luffy had been expecting a response, "I doubt that there's anyone dead moaning and groaning in there, but maybe there's buried treasure." Ace smiled at the sight of Luffy's face lighting up at the prospect of a treasure hunt. Ace didn't want to break it to him that it was highly unlikely there was even more than five dollars in the place. If there had been, Ace doubted that the house would have continued to look so run down.

Luffy's eyes were glued to the house, as if he could see straight through into the interior, and the likely places someone from long ago may have buried or hidden such a treasure. If there actually was one.

Ace joined his younger brother in surveying the house, as Garp strode past to talk to the renter of the home. Trafal...something or other. Law. The surgeon who apparently was all but broke if this was all he could afford to rent. Ace ingored the discussion between his adoptive grandfather and the surgeon, and studied the house a little more fully than he had when he had first glimpsed it. Ace tipped his hat back to give the house a dour, unimpressed once over. Nope, it was still as horrible and falling apart as it had appeared before.

The only good that this house was going to do for Luffy and himself was to get them away from Garp and his insistence that they both go to school, and stay out of trouble. The 'trouble' bit was mainly aimed at Ace. Luffy did get into trouble on occasion, but it was harmless. Ace happened to have developed a much more destructive hobby, and it was highly addictive. Even now the teen could feel the urge to do what he'd done to these kind of houses in the past. Burn it down. The temptation was overwhelming with the way the place looked to be nearly falling apart anyway. Ace loved to make things, and watch things, burn. Candles. Stoves. Fireplaces. Huge ass bon fires, that he gladly helped the college students organize and put on during Spring Break.

Ace let his eyes rove over the house again, more slowly this time as he shoved the urge to the back of his mind. It would be a bad idea to start something so close to the police station. And besides, Ace wouldn't go randomly lighting people's houses on fire unless he felt they actually deserved it. Like murderers or rapists or drug dealers that had holed themselves up in a house to avoid detection. Ace's smile slipped the longer he looked at the house he was going to be staying in. There was just something about it that was unpleasant.

Ace was aware of what kind of expression he wore when he considered his pyromaniac tendencies, so he felt it coming before it happened. The swift and sharp movement of a hand aimed at him like a heat seeking missile. The teen swiftly ducked, narrowly avoiding his grandfather Garp's swat to the back of his head. The older man had done it a few too many times, but it had the same result, whether it connected or not. Ace scowled at Garp, who returned it with one of his own.

"Don't go setting anything in there on fire. You aren't the one paying for the place." Garp managed to sneak in a rough cuff to the older teen's shoulder, which he only did out of love, to get his point across. It really was unfortunate that he hadn't been able to squash Ace's unhealthy obsession with fire. He wondered where he'd gone wrong, "I didn't raise you to think about setting fire to places!"

Ace stumbled a few steps out of range, in case Garp tried for another swipe, "What the hell old man! Why would I set a place I'm going to stay on fire? And you aren't even my real grandpa!"

"That doesn't matter if I am or not! What does matter is you setting things intentionally on fire! What about the apartment?"

Ace made eye contact with Garp. Damn the old codger knew him well. Ace squared his shoulders, but refused to back down from the issue. But he wasn't going to exactly acknowledge any fault though, "It was an accident." Ace said evasively. It had been, and Garp hadn't realized what sick wackos their neighbors had been. He'd seen the looks that had been thrown at himself and Luffy, and they hadn't been pleasant. He did it in self defense, really. Everyone else in the apartment had gotten out fine, even the sick bastards that he'd initially set the fire near. They'd ben arrested, and no one had died. Therefore, it was not as big a deal that Garp was making it out to be.

Garp was just as stubborn as Ace, and wasn't about to let the issue lie, "Sure it was. An accident. What about that decrepit restaurant near the place we lived before? The lander mat with questionable owners? The drug dealers that my department caught because their homes caught on fire and burned down? Any of those ring a bell?"

Ace shrugged, spreading his hands, "It's a mystery. But you caught the bad guys, so it doesn't matter how the fires started, right?"

Garp eyed Ace silently for a moment, before he shook his head in exasperation, "You need to get your love of fire under control. If you want to be a cop, you can't go lighting things on fire as the best way to solve a problem. You're just lucky that no one has died because of it, and I've managed to keep things from getting out about your pyrotechnic antics."

Ace adjusted his hat absently, "Who the hell says I'm going to be a cop like you?" He really didn't feel like having this conversation, but he couldn't help it. He hated anyone making decisions for him. He'd live his life how he saw fit, and being a cop didn't factor into it.

Luffy, more or less immersed with his examination of the house, couldn't be bothered to echo his brother about the whole grow up to be a cop. If Luffy had been paying attention, and not picking his nose absently, he would have announced that he was either going to become a pirate, or King of the World, or both.

"You aren't implying that you are going to go hang out with Whitebeard and his miscreants, are you, Ace?" Garp questioned darkly after a few moments.

"They aren't doing anything illegal, and besides, they don't mind a little fire." Ace smiled faintly as he swiftly dodged back out of reach of Garp, and added, "Not that I've actually _set _things on fire."

Garp was about to remind him that he had, when his phone, and pager, both went off at the same time, and cut off any further conversation. Garp noted the number, and waved over to Law, who had been lingering near the front door, and watching the exchange, "Well, gotta get to work. One of the boys is screwing things up, as usual. Let some suspects out to hang out in the lobby." Garp laughed as he walked off, and Ace looked marginally calmer when the cop car was out of sight.

Law stepped aside to allow Luffy to enter the house, the fourteen year old barely able to contain his excitement to look inside of the broken down looking place. Law watched Ace approach, and wasn't surprised at Garp's exasperation. Not many people went around shirtless and acted as if they weren't. Law caught the teen's eyes and offered a faint smirk, "Did you really set a drug dealer's house on fire?" When he saw a frown turned his way, Law shrugged, "I've done worse, but your grandpa is never going to hear about it. He'd have never let the two of you stay here otherwise."

Ace crossed his arms and eyed Law suspiciously, "Oh yeah? What did you do?" What would a surgeon do to get in trouble? It couldn't be anything that bad.

"I did some smuggling and other things, and got away with it, right beneath the cop's noses. Probably even Garp's." Law turned and headed back into the house, and half turned to finish, "That was when I was around your age. Maybe a little younger."

Ace was fully relaxed by now; the suspicion had mainly been replaced by amusement at the idea that Garp had no idea about illegal activity done by the surgeon. Perhaps it wouldn't be too bad to hang around the guy, "And now you're doing a legit job of piecing people back together."

"It'll pay the bills." Law said with a smile. He was relieved that he didn't have to hide any illegal activity. After all, Law never knew when Doflamingo was going to spring something on him out of the blue. Law was surprised to find that he was more relaxed than he had expected, especially since Ace was apparently fine with playing with fire in not so legal ways.

Ace shut the door and called over to his brother, "What are you doing, Luffy? You already find something?"

Luffy grinned brightly as he gestured all around him with a wave of his hands, "This place is awesome! I thought it'd be as creepy inside, but it still looks like there might be treasure or something hidden in here!"

"Or dead bodies."

Luffy puffed his cheeks up in displeasure at the very thought, "That wouldn't be as fun as finding treasure from hundreds of years ago."

Law smirked faintly as he walked by the two brothers, heading for the kitchen, "I doubt this place is that old. A hundred or two would be the oldest it could be."

Ace sprawled on a nearby chair, "What would you do with treasure?"

Luffy stopped trying to reach up for a hook on the wall, "I'd use it to be King of the World!"

"Yeah, right, and I'll be the Fire God."

Luffy crossed his arms, "Just you wait Ace. I'm gonna do it!"

"Sure you are. Let me know when that happens."

Law, in the kitchen, rested his forehead against the front of the fridge in slight despair. Noisy teenagers. He didn't recall being so loud, even at Luffy's age. Law suddenly remembered the sleeping situation, and poked his head out of the kitchen to speak to the two teens still in the entry way of the house, "You two are getting the room with the twin beds. I'm the one paying, so I get the master bedroom."

"Not cool man."

"Do you think that there are hidden traps doors or panels in that room?"

Law retreated into the kitchen, and pretended to not hear Ace's protests about having to sleep on a twin bed.

-x

Law went to bed long after Luffy and Ace did. Apparently some teenagers _were_ able to go to bed at a normal hour. Law ran a hand through his hair as he headed up the stairs, pausing momentarily. The dark haired man blinked. He could have sworn he had just spotted some movement at the top of the stairs. Like someone had just walked by. Law held still as he studied the railing that went along half of the upstairs. He didn't spot anything moving. Shaking his head, Law went up the last few steps. All that greeted him was darkness. Shadows. Law continued along, briefly pausing and listening for any footsteps or a sound of any kind from Ace and Luffy. Nothing, but for some occasional snoring.

Shaking his head again, Law went into the master bedroom, and closed the door behind him. Law was glad that there had already been a complete mattress set, as it would have been awkward to try and find one, with his at the moment rather limited budget. Crocodile had made the effort to make the place more or less comfortable for a renter. And at least Law was only going to be having the two teens around for a few weeks while Garp's place was renovated. He would likely appreciate the silence when the two were gone. He was wondering if he should have said no to the friend that had suggested he let the teens stay.

Law slipped into bed after kicking off his shoes and, too tired to bother removing his shirt or pants, collapsed onto the bed gratefully. Law sleepily reached over and hit the bedside light, plunging the room into darkness. Law settled beneath the covers, and closed his eyes. He had a place to stay for the time being, and he would, hopefully, be earning money soon. Law mused over his job prospects, and found that he wasn't as concerned about it as he had initially thought he would be. With his qualifications and degrees, he was sure to get one of the jobs that he had applied for.

Law fell into a light doze, and just as he was about to drift off completely, the breeze from earlier in the day swept over him. Law cracked an eye open, but saw nothing that would make him slip out from the warmth of the blankets. Law rolled over onto his side, snuggling further beneath the covers in an attempt to fight off the increasingly cold feeling of the room. The dark haired man sleepily thought to check for drafts the next day.

Law woke a little more when he became aware of the fact that in the silence of the room, he heard what sounded like breathing. What had caught his attention was that it was not his own. There was even what sounded like a creak. Law turned slightly to peek over his shoulder, but again, there was nothing there to explain what he was hearing. Law dropped back down. He supposed he would have to check and see if the floors creaked as well. It did seem to be an old house. He should expect to hear odd noises now and then.

The cold feeling grew, and it felt almost as if it were settling over him like a thin, and very cold, blanket. Law strove to ignore it, but as soon as he thought he'd succeeded, that was when the cold grew extreme to the point that it almost burned. Law was completely taken aback when it felt as if his left shoulder had been doused in a bone chilling cold. Law was unable to move, the cold lighting up his mind with pain. Before the dark haired man could think to move away from the frigid cold, Law felt himself forcefully turned over onto his back.

That brought Law into full wakefulness, because of the fact that it felt as if a person had wrenched his arm, the hand digging into his shoulder. The chilling frigidness had retreated, but Law still felt pain in the limb where he'd been...grabbed.

The dark haired man skittered across the bed, away from where the cold lingered, at the very thought that there was another person in the room with him. Law flipped the nearby lamp on, his whole body tense, as if expecting to see the perpetrator right there in bed with him. Nothing. Law's eyes darted to the bedroom door, and found that it was still closed. Feeling a little foolish, Law leaned over the side of the bed, and peeked beneath it. As he had expected, there was no one hiding under there, messing with him.

Heart still racing a little more quickly than he'd have liked, Law turned the light back off. He bundled up beneath all of the sheets and blankets, in an attempt to fight off the cold that seemed to permeate straight through the blankets, and into his body. Law shivered, but managed to fall asleep despite the discomfort. He would check the heater in the morning to make sure that it was working properly.

Law soon drifted into an uneasy sleep. The doctor was unaware that something brushed past his hair, and to anyone who had seen it, it would have seemed like a breeze going by. If looked at from a closer proximity, however, the motion would have been likened to someone running a hand through the hair, and tousling it gently. Law, deeply asleep by now, didn't hear the faint, almost inaudible voice as it sounded close to one of his ears. The sound of someone trying to contain many emotions at once, and finally settling on a disbelieving, yet pleased, tone.

'_You came back.'_


	4. Ch 3: The Cellar

When Law woke the next morning, he found no trace of the cold that he had felt from the night before. In fact, he was quite hot cocooned beneath all of the blankets and sheets. Law reached up a hand and ran it through his hair absently as he yawned. Even if the traces of the cold were gone, Law felt that he should make sure that there was nothing wrong with the house. He supposed that he didn't have anything better to do that day, so he may as well check out the heater to make sure that it was working properly.

Law felt a light breeze pass over him, and withheld a sigh. He needed to find out where those drafts were coming from as well. If he could find the source, he would be able to call Crocodile and get him to send someone out to fix it for him. Law held still to see if there was going to be any more unexplained drafts of air. When there wasn't, Law stretched and yawned once more, before he reluctantly got out of bed. Rummaging around in a drawer, he found some clothes to change into. The dark haired man stood near the window briefly, looking outside, but Law didn't feel any drafts coming from the window. That didn't make him very happy.

With a sigh, Law exited the bedroom, and headed down the stairs, his eyes on the small half sized door that led into the basement. He didn't remember seeing it on the brief walkthrough with Crocodile, otherwise he would have asked the violet haired man why the door was so small. It seemed a little odd, considering the rest of the house had normal sized doors, and looked new. The door to the basement looked worn and starting to splinter. Law stopped before the door to study it. Perhaps it had been a part of the original house.

"Hey, Law."

Law turned slightly, and caught sight of the frowning visage of Ace peeking around the corner of the kitchen doorway. Law raised a brow at him, but did not respond. It was far too early in the morning to deal with teenagers, and Law was more interested in making sure whether he was going to be freezing cold every single night. The faint cold that suddenly hung over him made him more determined to check out the furnace. Cold weather didn't overly bother Law, but he didn't want to have to deal with it when he was trying to get some sleep.

Ace was far more concerned with the state of the food in the house than any faulty furnace. The older teen, seeing that he had caught the doctor's attention, held up a carton of almond milk, "What the hell kind of drink is this? Where's all the soda and other junk food and meat?"

"…I haven't exactly gone out shopping for groceries yet. I was making sure that everything was working in this house before I went and got anything." Law didn't see any problem with almond milk, but he should have guessed that hungry teenagers preferred something else that was more common place.

Ace began to smile, a little smugly, "You do realize that Luffy and I eat a lot, right?"

"And you do realize that I only really have enough money to get food for myself. I don't think your grandfather is expecting me to feed the two of you if you really do eat as much as you seem to be indicating." Law reached out and opened the short door, and reached up to turn on the light. The light bulb flared to life, before it began to flicker, and then burn out with a pop, plunging the stairway back into darkness. Law pointedly ignored the low chuckle he heard, since it didn't seem to register in his mind that it hadn't come from Ace.

Ace disappeared into the kitchen, and when he returned, he tossed Law a flashlight, "I guess you'll need this." Ace grinned at the look the older man threw him, and added, with a smirk, "And the old geezer wasn't going to make you pay for our food. There's no way you'd have enough money for that. I was going to go get some groceries before Luffy came back from school." Ace frowned at the surgeon in mock seriousness, "I suppose it's too much to hope that you actually have a car?" Ace laughed a little at the glare tossed his way as Law flicked the flashlight on, "Whatever. Doesn't matter. The store isn't too far from here."

"Don't you have to go class as well?" Law questioned, as he aimed the flashlight up at where the bulb had gone out.

"Why waste my time? Besides, the teachers don't like how I distract all the girls, and light trash cans on fire when there are bullies roughing people up."

Law looked away from the door directly at Ace, "And you wonder why Garp is always hounding you?"

"It's not my fault the teachers couldn't understand that I was only doing it for the greater good." Ace shrugged as he considered the carton in his hand. To drink, or not to drink, the mystery almond flavored beverage.

"So they kicked you out." Law shook his head, but couldn't help but let a smile slip as he trained the flashlight down the stairs. The cold seemed to be coming from the basement, but that was the case with most homes, that the lower levels were a tad cooler than the rest of the house.

"Yup. For two weeks. Garp just about burst from all the bottled up frustration. I went and hung out with some of my friends until he calmed down. I only have a few more days to go." Ace decided he would try the drink after all. He was thirsty.

"You get in a lot of trouble, don't you?" Law's smile dropped at the sight of the numerous cobwebs and the old and decrepit appearance of the stairwell that led to a more, from the looks of it, cellar-like basement. "What about your brother?"

"Luffy? He was fine. Didn't even know that Garp was mad at me until I didn't come home for a few days. Thought I'd been abducted by aliens or kidnapped by gangsters."

Law looked away from the cellar, "And what did you tell him?"

Ace grinned as he took a gulp of the almond milk, and grimaced. Ace stared at the carton for a moment, before he shrugged and took another drink directly out of the container, "Told him that I lit some things on fire and they let me go. That I was too much of a hazard to be worth any ransom if I harassed them and burned down their digs."

Law realized that he'd allowed the teenager to distract him from his original intention to inspect the basement. Law waved the flashlight at Ace, "One, use a glass. Don't drink out of the container. I happen to like that kind of drink. Two, weren't you saying that you were going to go get groceries? Since you're a delinquent fire starter and not going to school today?"

Ace laughed as he went into the kitchen in search of something more edible, "Yeah, I'll go soon. You also need to make some copies of the keys to the house too. I don't want to wait outside to get in when you do get a job."

Another thing to add to the growing list of things to do. Law turned away from looking at the kitchen, and back to the staircase. Training the flashlight to the bottom of the steps, Law went slowly down the stone stairs, as if expecting one of the steps to give way. Nothing of the sort happened, though Law did feel a tug on his arm, as if urging him to go down the stairs more quickly. Law passed the sensation off as his arm catching on cobwebs. When the dark haired man reached the bottom of the landing, he swung the flashlight left, and then right. It was a lot bigger than he had initially expected. To Law's right was a small alcove with shelves, which looked like they could be used to store either bottles of alcohol, or food, if modified slightly. Or just placed carefully.

Law decided he didn't want to do too much renovation, in case Crocodile had a problem with the way things ended up. There was a door a little further ahead, about fifteen feet, and to his left, sat the furnace and water heater, tucked in the corner. Law headed over to the heater, and shined the flashlight over it. He inspected it for a few minutes, and decided that everything appeared to be working. He may consider getting someone who knew what they were doing to take a look at it, but otherwise, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Law turned and flashed the beam back to the other corner of the room. He could have sworn he had heard some footsteps, but as soon as he had noticed the sound, it was there no longer. Law scanned the area carefully. It had seemed like someone had been following him, but there was no one there, and there were no shadows to indicate someone lurking down in the basement with him.

Law turned back to take a look at the water heater, and again, from what he could see, everything looked to be new and in working order. Law edged around the two appliances carefully, and his flashlight passed over an old fashioned boiler that had obviously seen better days. It didn't appear to be connected to anything, so Law didn't have to worry about it catching on fire. Law moved a little closer to the boiler, just to make sure that it was truly non functioning, when a cold swept over him. Like the one from the night before.

Instead of merely shivering in an attempt to stave off the cold, Law was hit with a sudden wave of nausea. The dark haired man swayed a little, thrown off balance by the feeling. If Law hadn't been focusing so hard on trying to prevent himself from falling over and retching, he would have felt something cold settle against his back. Like someone was holding him up, and keeping him from falling over.

Law took several deep breaths, and the nausea soon left him. Law shined the light around, and at the boiler. That had been...a very weird sensation. What had brought that on? Was there something here in the basement that could have brought that sick feeling down on him? Law froze in place when he became aware of the cold spot against his back. Now the dark haired man understood why he hadn't fallen over. It almost felt as if someone had an arm around him, and the hand was lightly trailing across his waist, and heading higher. Law made a faint sound, and took a few steps forward. Law twisted slightly and shined the flashlight backward, but there was no one standing there.

Law peered around in the gloom. It had almost seemed as if someone were standing directly behind him, but now they weren't. Law wondered if someone was down there with him after all. Law set his jaw at the thought, about to demand that the person show themselves, when a loud, sharp knock rang out behind him. Law whirled around at the particularly loud noise, and shined his flashlight this way and that. There was nothing in the poor lighting that would explain either the noise or the touch of an unseen arm and hand.

Th…thump.

The sound was louder, and this time it sounded like something being dragged, and tossed around. Law shined the flashlight on the door that he had seen coming down into the cellar. Were the unexplained noises coming from behind the door? Law headed over to it, and ran a hand over the aged cedar door, but found no way to open it.

BANG!

Law stumbled back a few steps as the noise echoed in the small space. It sure as hell sounded as if someone were pounding on the door. A demanding sound. Oddly enough, it seemed to be trying to get his attention. Law inched forward and ran a hand over the door once more, using the flashlight to check for a handle. Again, there appeared to be no way to open it. It was like someone had just decided to put a door in for decoration.

Another loud knock sounded from behind him, and Law turned, irritated, and ready to try and demand an answer again. Law paused mid breath, when he saw that it was only Ace knocking on the wooden railing to get his attention.

Ace blinked in the bright light of the flashlight, wondering why the man hadn't answered him when he'd called down the steps. Ace almost smirked at Law's rattled look, before he hooked a thumb over his shoulder, "There's a call for you. Someone from the hospital down the street." He'd only answered the phone because Law had been taking his time checking out the basement. Ace was only sorry that it hadn't been the owner of the house, or the school. He'd have had fun with that.

Law didn't stop to wonder why the cell in his pocket hadn't gone off, "Where?"

"Living room." Ace stepped aside to allow Law to race up the stairs, catching the flashlight as Law scrambled past in his attempts to reach the phone faster.

Knock...knock...

Ace frowned and lifted the flashlight, moving it to and fro. He could have sworn that he heard a knocking sound. Faulty pipes maybe. With a shrug, Ace turned and went back up the stairs, and shut the half sized door behind him as he went. Old houses made sounds, so he wasn't going to worry about it.

Down in the darkness, more knocking came from behind the door that Law couldn't open. The knocking stopped, as if someone were waiting and listening, before the sound started up again. Impatient and insistent.

Knock...knock...knock...


	5. Ch 4: Unseen

Law located the house phone easily enough, and picked it up off the table where Ace had left it. Taking a breath to steady himself, Law spoke smoothly into the receiver, calm and professional, "This is Trafalgar Law." There was soft laughter on the other end of the phone, and Law smirked a little as he recognized the feminine voice that spoke.

_"Well, don't you sound all grown up and professional, Doctor Law."_

"Hello, Monet. I didn't know you were working at a hospital." Law knew exactly which hospital he was likely getting the job at, as the light green haired woman had mentioned some months ago that she was going to apply there as a receptionist. Mainly because she needed some...legal work to do. Law had told her, straight-faced, that anyone that worked for Doflamingo needed a job like that, so that the cops didn't get suspicious of them all.

There was another laugh. _"You're direct, as usual. You can be so serious that it gets a little ridiculous. You should lighten up a little bit."_

"Any particular reason you're calling, or were you just trying to rub it in my face that you have a job, and I don't?" Law doubted that was the case, but Monet was the one who was beating around the bush.

_"You're no fun."_ Monet almost seemed a little disappointed that Law wasn't teasing her about something in return, _"And no, I was actually calling you to tell you that you were accepted as a surgeon here. It seems like the doctors you interned with were impressed with you when you were here. Some of the extra qualifications you had was in your favor as well. Plus, you nailed the interview."_

"And when am I supposed to come in to take care of the paperwork so I can start the job?" Law wasn't surprised that the qualifications he had had helped, and he had been rather sure of himself in the interview. He just hadn't been sure if he had come off as arrogant. It had been hard to tell with the woman that had interviewed him. But, it had gone well, and he had gotten the job at the hospital that had been his first choice.

_"Can you come in tomorrow morning at ten? There's quite a lot of things you need to fill in so that you can go operate on people."_

"I'll be there." It was sooner than Law had expected to be able to get a job, so he had no problem walking to the hospital the next day to take care of paperwork.

_"See you tomorrow then."_

Law hung up the phone, and stood up. The troubles he had experienced in the basement seemed to be distant with the good news of landing a job. Law turned and headed for the stairs, thinking that he may as well go and get things together for the next day. He'd hate to show up unprepared, and have people wonder if they should have gone with another doctor. A surgeon needed to have a level head and remember things. It would have done the patient no good if he were distracted or forgetful.

Law entered the bedroom, pleased that it seemed like he was going to be able to get out of this house sooner rather than later. He'd be able to afford a home that didn't happen to have the heat give out in the middle of the night. Or even worry about anything in a new house going haywire, because everything would be brand new. But Law still had to be in this house for a few months before he made enough money to afford a newer place of his own. That meant that he would find out tonight whether it was going to drop in temperature again. It would let him know if he should be concerned about getting the furnace checked out by a professional.

As Law started to rummage around for his I.D. and other materials he'd need to bring with him, his thoughts strayed to the cellar-basement. The noises, and the cold, and the fact that it had felt like he had been touched a few times. Law pushed the unpleasant thought to the back of his mind. It had to have been the cobwebs, or something that had caught his shirt to give the sensation of someone touching him. Because there had been no one down there, and Law refused to entertain the idea of a ghost. Law didn't believe in someone lingering after death.

Dead was dead.

-x

Down in the cellar-like basement, the knocking and banging sounds had all but stopped, leaving an eerie silence in its wake. It had been silent for the past fifteen minutes. The one that had been making all of the sounds was not at all pleased that he had been pointedly ignored.

Again.

Kidd, on the other side of the door, blew out a low sigh of frustration. The red head turned away from the door, and went further into the low-ceilinged room. He was very disappointed that Law hadn't come inside the hidden room. He had been standing right outside it. Kidd had hear him running his hands along the door, but he hadn't been able to open it. Kidd was beginning to wonder if his lover had hit his head or something. He was acting oddly; more so than was usual for the doctor. Kidd had even tried to get him to move down the stairway more quickly, impatient with the man that he was still playing dumb.

It was one of their games. One that the two had started doing earlier in their relationship. There was just something that turned the two of them on about hiding down in a cellar behind locked doors, where no one could hear the occasional screams and gasps and moans. Kidd would sometimes hide himself away in this room, and if the doctor really wanted to see him, he would come down to the cellar to find him. Kidd leaned against an operating table as his lips twisted in amusement as he remembered the first time that Law had laid his eyes on the room. Kidd could even hear the doctor, after all this time, commenting dryly at what was before him.

_'I didn't know you had something like this beneath your house.' Lips quirk in a dark, sexy smile as the doctor's eyes rove over the room._

_'Have to hide it, otherwise I'll get busted.' The red head's smile matches the other's. He can tell that, despite the doctor's job of saving people, he likes what he sees in that hidden room._

Kidd pushed away from the table. He could almost feel his lovers slender arms wrap around him from behind. He missed that, even if he enjoyed getting the jump on Law more often.

_'I think I want to operate on you, Eustass-ya.' The dark-haired man breathes, as he reaches up to nip at his lover's neck lightly._

_Kidd growls lowly and seizes the dark-hared man, as he pushes him against the table, 'I think I'll operate on you first.'_

_The head tilts up, and the doctor's eyes shine with barely contained lust, 'I don't know if I should let you. You don't have certification.'_

_The red head grins as he leans forward and bites down harshly on the side of his lover's neck, 'Don't worry, docoor, I'll take good care of you.'_

_Two twisted grins mirrored one another._

Kidd swept the memories away as he idly ran a hand along the shelves in the room. The red head silently looked at all of the devices and sharp knives and scalpels that he and his lover had collected over the years. Kidd dropped his hand, and headed for the door. Oh well. There was always next time. He would have to try something a little more direct, since Law was apparently still ignoring his presence.

Kidd did so hate to be ignored. It tended to make him think about all the things he could do to Law to punish him, when the other purposefully ignored him. The last time it had happened, that Kidd could recall, was when he and the doctor had gotten one another a little more ruffed up than usual, and Law had stormed off amidst a very vocal and violent confrontation. Kidd didn't see him for two weeks. Kidd had run across Law on the street, but the doctor had feigned ignorance and refused to look at him. Sure, they got back together a few nights later, but Kidd couldn't stand the fact that his lover had basically ignored his very existence.

Kidd slid through the now open door, and glanced up the stairs from the cellar.

No, he was definitely going to get Law to acknowledge him, one way or another. The red head went up the stairs, before he settled against a wall on the main floor of the house. Kidd scowled a little as Ace walked past him. Kidd was going to wait for that noisy teen to leave, so he and Law could have some privacy. Kidd had to wonder why Law was allowing the two teens to live in _his_ house with the two of them, but the red head figured that Law had plans for them. Law always had plans, and Kidd loved the more twisted ones that his lover came up with.

-x

"Law! If you have money I'll get you groceries." Ace called up from the bottom of the stairs. He felt a bit chilled, standing there, but maybe the house was just cold. If Law hadn't gone downstairs to check the furnace, Ace would have gone down to check himself.

Law's voice came out from the master bedroom after a moment's pause, "I'll get my own, Ace. I'm trying to get things ready to go to the hospital tomorrow."

"Does that mean you got the job?" Ace checked to make sure he had his wallet, before tucking it away. The teen supposed that was why the hospital had called. The receptionist he had talked to had been polite, but the tone in her voice made Ace refrain from yanking her chain. Only a little, though. She sure had been flattered when Ace had half-jokingly said she had a beautiful voice over the phone. She sounded taken aback, before an icy tone had entered her voice, and told him to get Law. He had.

"Yes. Now go already. Weren't you going to leave a half hour ago?" Law was unaware that Monet had basically threatened Ace without words to not mess around with her.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going now." Ace exited the house and closed the door. As Ace walked down the sidewalk, he didn't realize that the door had closed a little more heavily because an invisible force had helped it move along faster.

-x

Law flopped onto the bed with a low growl of frustration. He'd looked everywhere for it, but he couldn't find his I.D. Not that the people at the hospital would mind for the first day, since they knew him from when he worked at the hospital as an intern. Law would be able to get everything settled, but if he wanted to actually operate on patients and get paid, he needed to find out where in the hell his damned I.D. had walked off to.

Law turned over onto his side as he frowned deeply in thought. Where could it have gone? He had needed it to get onto the airplane, and to flash at Crocodile, though he was fairly certain the violet haired man wouldn't have cared one way or another. He'd already been recommended by Doflamingo, so that was all the I.D. that Law would have needed to give Crocodile.

Law began to become aware of a cold breeze sweeping over him, before he shivered. That was odd. It was perfectly fine in this room when he had woken up. Whatever Law had expected to be the cause of the unexplained cold was driven from his mind when he felt a hand, or what felt like one, slowly slide up his stomach to his chest.

What in the hell…?

Law rolled across the bed and propped himself up halfway, wondering if he'd imagined a hand touching him. Like when he had been down in the cellar. Law wondered if it could be something psychological. Law was silent as he studied the rest of the bed warily, as if expecting someone to suddenly be there.

Law was completely taken aback when he felt a hand, and he could tell it was one from the feel of it, shove him hard in the chest. Cold swept over him, the same kind that he had experienced from the night before. Law fell backward onto the bed, and before he could think to move, he was forced down further by a heavy pressure. Law began to panic a little more when he realized that he couldn't see anyone, even though it felt like someone was pinning him down with their weight.

Law began to try and free himself from whatever unearthly pressure was holding him down. The efforts grew when two hands began to make their way down his sides in a slow caress, one hand feeling distinctly colder than the other. Like metal. Law still couldn't see anything, but the hands seemed to be more solid the longer the caresses continued. Law tried to wriggle free, but stopped with a sharp intake of air when the hands dropped down and squeezed his hips in a firm grip. One of warning, Law noted dimly.

The hands let go of Law's hips, having made the point that the dark haired man shouldn't try and get away, and began to creep back over him. The hands slid up beneath Law's shirt, making the doctor become more aware of the metal-like hand, as it and the other hand moved up slowly toward his chest. The fingertips twisted after a moments pause, and Law bit back a moan. He barely heard what sounded like a low, amused male laughing at him for his reaction to the touch.

By now Law's heart had begun to race, his mind refusing to acknowledge that something he couldn't see was groping him. Law bit his lip when he realized that it was feeling more and more like a body pinning him down, and Law's breath hitched when the unseen fingers suddenly pinched down with greater pressure. Law was not at all accustomed to the odd caresses and touches, as he hadn't exactly had the time for any relationships with his busy schedule. At least, not for several years.

Law squirmed as the hands kept up their teasing, and Law squeezed his eyes shut, subconsciously tilting his head back onto the bed as he struggled to regain his breath. The dark haired man's skin crawled when the hands drifted down to his sides, nails scraping lightly. Law felt a puff of cold air against his throat, and that was all the warning he received before something bit down on the side of his neck in a rough bite.

Law let out a strangled cry of utter shock, and renewed his efforts to free himself. He absolutely refused to believe in the paranormal, but there was really no other explanation for what was happening to him. It was like some ghost had decided that it wanted to make out with him, or was trying to, and Law could only hope he didn't end up with a hickey.

He wanted this to all be a dream. It had to be, even if it was embarrassing as hell that his body was seeming to remind him that he hadn't been in a relationship for a long while. Not that he had realized that being bitten was apparently a turn on. It wouldn't have ever crossed his mind. Law, unfortunately, was fairly certain that he was fully awake. The bite on his neck hurt, and whoever had done it was slowly increasing the pressure, and it made him writhe.

Law kept his eyes firmly shut against the sensation, and gritted out tersely, "Go away. Whoever the hell you are, leave me alone." The pressure of the bite stopped at once as a soft breath, almost like an exhalation of surprise, sounded. The presence that had been holding him down, as well as the cold, retreated. Law was left lying on his back on the bed in a suddenly room temperature bedroom.

Heart racing, Law took a few calming breaths and sat up. He thought he heard something crash in the distance, but that wasn't important right now. His throbbing neck was. Since he couldn't bring himself to feel it, Law stood and walked stiffly to the master bathroom, still a bit in shock at what had just happened. And the fact that the bite and the touches had half aroused him. Law put that far from his mind as he settled on inspecting his neck.

Law stared at himself in the mirror, heart speeding up again as he stared at the unmistakable bite-mark, and soon to be hickey, against the left side of his throat. Law traced a finger lightly around the mark, and winced. He was going to need something to clean the bite-mark and cover it up. He did not want anyone to see the bite. It would lead to awkward questions.

Law liked to think that he was a very rational man, but there was no other explanation for what had just happened to him. The damn house that he was renting from Crocodile was haunted, and the surgeon was very displeased that such a thing even existed. Law eyed the bite again. But the fact was staring him in the eyes, and he couldn't deny it even if he wanted to. Law stooped down to rummage around in a drawer.

If the dark-haired man had looked up at that exact moment, he would have seen Kidd reflected in the mirror, seated on the bed. The red head looked decidedly angry and yet a little confused, that he'd been stopped.


	6. Ch 5: Uneasy Calm

Ace didn't think much of the cold that he had felt in the house the further away he got from the place. It would have never crossed his mind that there was actually something paranormal in the house. Mainly because Ace had never seen a ghost, and therefore didn't have any reason to believe that they actually existed.

Ace turned a corner, and headed past several houses, as he made his way to the store to get some groceries, as he had told Law earlier. The older black haired teen paused near the back of the high school, where he spotted a group of teenagers laughing at something that one of the others must have just said. Ace recognized them as other delinquents that managed to only occasionally be caught in the act. Ace's acts just happened to be more flashy and sometimes more dangerous than one of the other teens roughing someone up for their money, or just to assert their dominance over them.

Ace would have continued on his way to the store, when one of the teens voices was loud enough that he could hear it clearly as he passed by.

"...Yeah man, I hear ya. That crazy brat punched me in the gut the last time I tried shakin' him up for money."

"Loser. How could a kid four years younger than you beat you so bad?"

"It wasn't my fault! The bloody kid has a hard punch!"

"Which little loser was it? I can help you out the next time you wanna beat up on him. Or try to, anyway."

"Luffy. You know, Ace's younger brother."

"Ace's brother? I didn't know that pyro freak had a brother. I'll join you next time too. I ain't goin' anywhere near Ace though. Crazy bastard. He lit a trash can on fire a few weeks ago and it singed my back!"

Ace had heard enough, and he veered off course, crossing the lawn and heading right for the other teenagers. It was one thing to threaten to bully his brother, but it was another thing entirely to hear these idiots plan it out in his presence. Ace let slip a warning glare as he eyed the suddenly silent teens, who had finally noticed his approach, and just who he was. Seeing he had made them all quiet, Ace spoke in a low, dangerous tone, "If I ever see any of you dumbasses lay a hand on my brother, I'll make you regret it."

The group of four teens exchanged wary glances with one another, before they started to laugh. The one that had spoken up first spoke for all four of them, "Why the fuck should we listen to you fire boy? You're always skipping school or being kicked out for weeks at a time. You wouldn't even know if we shook up your brother for money, cause you're never around." The teen stepped forward and shoved Ace hard in the chest, sending him back a few steps.

The other teens laughed dutifully at the sight, and the leader of the group grinned confidently, moving forward in anticipation of a fight, "Get lost, loser. I'll do whatever I want, and you can't stop me."

Ace didn't even bother to respond verbally, especially when the fool punched him this time. He caught the other teen's next swing, and swung back with twice the force. Even when the other teens joined in, Ace refused to back down now that the fight was in progress. He wasn't going to run, even if he was outnumbered. He wasn't going to let anyone harass or harm his brother if there was something he could do about it to prevent it from happening.

-x

Law was relieved that the ghost or whatever the hell was in the house happened to be leaving him alone now. Too bad the ghost couldn't have continued to do that in the first place, instead of touching him and biting him. Law lingered in the living room, his throbbing neck distracting him again. Law tentatively ran a finger along it, before he winced faintly and left it alone. Law had found it odd, that after he had cleaned the bite mark and covered it up with a bit of gauze, that his room had still felt a little cooler.

If Law didn't know any better, he could have almost sworn that the ghost or whatever was being moody and glum after being told off. The atmosphere of the house seemed to give off that vibe, especially after he left the master bedroom and had headed downstairs. It was a sensation that Law couldn't come up with a logical explanation for.

But Law's words seemed to have had an effect on whoever had been accosting him, because for the rest of the day, he had nothing paranormal happen again. Not even any cold spots appearing out of the blue in the house.

Law started when he heard the front door open, before he relaxed when he realized that it was only Ace returning from the store. Law frowned at a nearby clock. He'd been gone for hours, and by now school would be done. Had he waited for Luffy to get out of school before getting groceries? Law rose out of the chair he had been curled up on, reading a book, and headed to the front entryway. Law stood there, faintly entertained by the sight of both Ace and Luffy laden with bags of groceries, both teens looking as if they were about to topple over.

Law made the decision then and there to keep his encounter with the invisible person, ghost, whatever, to himself. There was no point in getting Luffy excited at the prospect of a ghost, especially since it seemed to be a horny one. And Law figured that Ace would just laugh it off. To distract himself from thoughts about the touchy ghost, Law took in Ace's beaten up appearance, and spoke, wearing a wry grin, "You sure took a long time getting those groceries."

Ace offered a lopsided smile in return, "There was something that I had to take care of first. It took a little longer than I thought, and I didn't realize the cops were gonna be involved."

Law didn't need to ask Ace what he'd done to get the cops involved. The dark haired doctor figured that he knew what Ace was hinting at. It was rather obvious to Law from the teen's beaten up and slightly bloody appearance that he had gotten into a fight.

Luffy turned to Ace, looking as if he had just remembered something, "Oh, one of the teachers said that he saw you and the other guys fighting. The school said you're going to have two more weeks of suspension for beating people up and setting one of their backpacks on fire."

Ace swore, "I didn't think anyone saw, except for some pedestrians that called the cops." Letting out a sigh, Ace carried the groceries to the kitchen, while Luffy followed after him.

"Did you give those guys a good slugging before you lit things on fire?"

"Of course I did! I'm not going to walk away from a fight!"

Law remained motionless for a moment, before he began to smirk. It seemed that Ace was more of a trouble maker than he had initially thought. At least he hadn't ended up killing anyone, since what he did mainly seemed to be in response to helping other people in trouble. Especially his brother. Law closed his eyes. He, on the other hand, had done such things. He'd killed people before, and that was before he had turned to doing a legit job. Sometimes causing death to another person had bothered him, but other times, the ones that had died had deserved it, and Law had no trouble sleeping at night whatsoever.

There had been a reason behind his decision to become a surgeon after working on and off for Doflamingo over the past few years. He had gotten very skilled at taking people apart in interesting and sometimes disturbing ways, so putting them back together after careful operations was something he had felt suited for. It was a bit different saving lives than ending them, but Law had eventually reached the decision that he had no desire to be put into jail. Doflamingo covered anyone's tracks who worked for him, so Law had no reason to worry that his past would come back to haunt him.

-x

Kidd had watched the exchange between Law and the two teens, before he had turned and wandered off to the master bedroom. Kidd settled on the bed moodily, a scowl implanted on his face as he tried to figure out why in the hell Law had stopped him earlier. The skinny bastard had even had the balls to claim to not know who he, Eustass Kidd, was.

Kidd flopped onto his side, tracing a hand along the sheets absently. Hell, what he had done to his lover had been almost tame, considering some of the things the two of them would get up to. Kidd knew Law liked it when he was more gentle than rough. It made it more exciting to the both of them when one of them didn't know when the other was going to be merciless again.

Kidd closed his eyes. Not for the first time in the past few days did the red head wonder if there had been something that he had done wrong. Something that would make Law do this. To pointedly ignore him, and act like he didn't know who he was. If that was the way Law was going to be, Kidd was going to have to figure out just what was making the doctor act this way. A thought crossed the red head's mind, and despite the fact that he despised the idea, it seemed like a good thing to do for now. Kidd would keep a low profile, though only for a little while, and observe Law, to see if anything obvious was the problem.

If and when he found something, Kidd would try something else to get Law's undivided attention. He knew his lover liked what he had in mind to happen occasionally. He'd try it in a few days, unless Law gave him some kind of sign to aknowledge him, and let him know he'd merely been toying with him. Kidd didn't mind so much if that was the case. He loved it when Law messed around with him this way and played his damn mind games.

But for now, all Kidd could do was keep trying and hope for some kind of acknowledgment, whether it was verbal or not. Kidd still wanted to punish Law for leaving him alone, but Kidd couldn't do that to him right now. Not until Law gave him some sign that he did know who he was.

It wouldn't be as fun to play around with Law and make him writhe and scream otherwise.

Kidd had waited a long time. A few more days was nothing at all.

-x

Several uneventful days passed by, and while paranormal occurrences had still occurred now and then, it wasn't anything like being touched. Law could live with not finding the house keys for a few minutes, or finding his other belongings in different areas of the house. He merely looked around until he found them, and went on with his day. That it only seemed to be happening to the doctor made the dark haired man wonder if the ghost was trying to get a rise out of him. Especially when things repeatedly went missing that he happened to need at certain times during the day (like his keys, his wallet, or his hospital I.D.).

Law refused to acknowledge that the ghost was starting to irritate him, slightly, with the childish acts, but didn't want to do anything about it. Since he had been all but ignoring the presence, it appeared to have been leaving him alone, more or less. Law hadn't felt cold these past few nights, as the room had remained at a level temperature, which Law decided meant that the ghost wasn't hanging around and watching him sleep. Law had, along with the items going missing and the occasional knocking sounds, noticed cold spots here and there as he went from room to room. The cold never lingered for long.

The only time Law felt he could actually relax after his run in the with ghost a few days previously had been when he was at the hospital. He was much calmer and collected at work, and despite the hectic pace that was set, Law found himself far less stressed out there than back at the house. Law had managed to find his I.D. after he had taken care of the bite mark on his neck. It had been down in the cellar for some reason, lying on the ground directly in front of the door that had no handle to open it with. Law presumed that he must have dropped it when he had come to check the furnace the other day. Not that he remembered having it on him at the time, but it made him feel slightly better if he didn't attribute its temporary loss to a ghost.

Law cast a wary look around the immediate area, a small tingling sensation between his shoulder blades. The dark haired man had the uneasy feeling that the ghost might be watching him, from a distance. For whatever reason that might be.

Law began to head up the stairs to the master bedroom, inwardly thinking about how the hospital was a very welcome distraction. The praise he received from his coworkers, and the thanks he received from the family members of a patient he had operated on early in the morning that day had made the ghost issue seem far away. Almost like a bad dream. Only it hadn't been, because Law still has the bite mark, even if it had all but faded by now. Law could only hope that the ghost would soon decide to leave him alone for good, especially if he didn't interact with it.

As Law entered the room, he didn't notice the presence that suddenly appeared to linger just outside the doorway to the bedroom.

Watching.

And waiting.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

A/N-

Yes, there will be smut (eventually). I just put the warnings at the top of the first chapter as an FYI for later chapters so people weren't surprised when things start to happen more frequently as the chapters go by. When I write this kind of a fanfic, I kind of feel the need for a sort of storyline to go with to justify putting smut/ect. into it. And things are going to start to escalate even more starting with the next chapter. Cause Kidd does need to get Law's attention before more can happen.

And thanks for the reviews/favs/follows. I was rather hesitant to post this fanfic, since it gets rather fucked up later on. I also didn't think I was going to post so much at once, but I had it, so I posted it. I needed a short break from my other fic anyway.


	7. Ch 6: Contact

Little brothers, Ace decided, were unexpectedly adapt at getting on their older siblings nerves. Ace tried to focus on the magazine in his hands, but that soon failed, as his brother's voice cut across the room.

"Ace, we're out of meat." Luffy whined as he flopped onto his bed.

Ace looked up from the magazine. He had the feeling that he wouldn't be getting back to it any time soon, "Yeah? And what do you want me to do about it?"

"Go get more." Luffy responded immediately, as if it were the most obvious answer in the world.

Ace set the magazine aside and eyed his brother, but didn't say anything. Most of the time Luffy acted his age, but when it came to food, especially meat, Luffy seemed to revert to a much younger age, and pester him continually. Ace tried to stand firm and not give in. Luffy was more than capable of getting food for himself. They were in a relatively safe neighborhood, at least during the daytime, and he knew Luffy had some money. Ace kept most of what Garp gave them, since they needed more than just meat all the time.

Luffy noticed the silence and tilted his head to the side, peeking over at Ace settled in a chair nearby, "I won't be able to get all the meat I want. You can carry more than I can."

"...and why aren't you coming along?" Ace questioned, before he saw that Luffy had suddenly fallen sleep, and was now snoring rather heavily. Ace shook his head fondly, amused that the two of them, and their grandfather, could fall asleep at any time, even during a conversation. "You're lucky you're my kid brother, or I'd make you go get the stuff yourself. I know you can carry just as much weight as I can." Ace stood and stretched, reaching over to ruffle the younger teen's hair, before he left the bedroom.

As soon as Ace left the room, and another door shut elsewhere in the house, Luffy peeked an eye open and grinned. Ace should have known that he had been faking slumber. He wouldn't have dared to try that around Grap. His grandpa would have been liable to smack him upside the head for daring to do such a thing, especially if they were having a talk.

Luffy sat up, before he pushed himself off the bed, and lingered near the open doorway, listening. When he had decided that Ace had actually gone out of the house, Luffy's grin widened. The younger teen went bounding down the stairs, having already made a decision during school that day that he wanted to check out the basement of the house. Mainly because both Law and Ace had told him not to, which meant that Luffy believed they were hiding something from him. Like the fact that there might be treasure down there, or something just as cool.

Luffy seized the flashlight lying on a table in the living room, before he approached the small door that led down to the basement. Luffy cracked the door open, held still to make sure that Law hadn't heard him, before he turned the flashlight on to light his way. The light bulb had been replaced, but Luffy didn't turn it on. A treasure hunt would be much cooler if it seemed creepy and mysterious. At least, that was what Luffy believed as he headed down the stairs. The younger teen had enough sense to not tinker with the furnace or water heater, but he did wander over to check out the shelves in the other corner of the cellar.

The flashlight passed over brick wall, and after a moment's inspection, there was something in the wall that Luffy could see when he passed the flashlight over it again. Was that something shiny he had seen flickering at him in the dim light? Excited that he may have found some kind of treasure, Luffy reached out with his free hand and worked at the brick. It took a few moments, but he succeeded in getting a piece loose. Luffy shined the flashlight inside the opening he had created, before he reached in it with a few fingers. His thumb and forefinger clasped on something leathery-feeling, and Luffy drew the item out. It was a small bag that clinked when he shook it. Like there was money in it. Luffy immediately began to look for more loose bricks, setting aside the prize that he had found.

As Luffy focused on the brick with the sole intent of finding even more treasure, or what he thought constituted as treasure, he didn't realize there were other sounds going on around him in the cellar basement.

The young teen didn't notice the almost silent, echoing footsteps in the area or the faint sound of scraping coming from behind the non-functioning boiler.

-x

Law had intended to go through a few folders that he had brought back with him from the hospital. To study up on a few procedures, to make sure he had the information in his mind correct. At the moment, though, he found that he was too tired to do that. Law lay on his bed after he had closed the curtains to block out the light. He was exhausted, despite the fact that he hadn't quite worked a full week. He had expected things to be busy but Law hadn't quite realized that he would feel this way. At least not until a few months had gone by, letting him fall into a not always the same schedule work week. Law was a specialized surgeon that mainly dealt with trauma injuries, so he was also on call when he wasn't working the regular day hours that he and another surgeon at the hospital had worked out between them.

Law thought that he heard some kind of query, a faint voice, sounding from just outside of the bedroom, but brushed it off. He let out a low, drawn out sigh as he muttered under his breath, "Just what I didn't need." Law had believed that the ghost problem would have gone away if he ignored it, but apparently that might not be the case. And that wasn't his only problem that he needed to think about.

Law had discovered that he would soon need to find a way to make the other doctors not notice that blood didn't bother him. It wasn't uncommon for someone to have a strong stomach, but to be completely unfazed, not so much. Especially since a few patients in the past few days had been rather banged up, and he was already getting slightly tired of being told in advance of how bad the injuries were. Unlike many people, Law didn't need to be told someone's condition until he saw them. He liked being able to take in the situation himself, and then act accordingly. He didn't want a misinterpretation on someone else's part to cause more harm to the patient.

Law didn't realized he'd grumbled his quandary aloud, because he suddenly felt the room temperature drop a bit. Law held perfectly still. The cold didn't go away. It lingered, signaling that the ghost was somewhere nearby, and perhaps watching him mutter aloud to himself. Law closed his eyes and smiled. Maybe he could get the ghost to leave him alone if he said something to make it think he was crazy. Law's lips quirked further at the thought of scaring off a ghost, instead of vice versa, and spoke, a little louder this time, "I've caused injuries a lot more damaging than what I've seen in the E.R. so far, so I really don't need a warning about how much blood I'm going to be seeing. I appreciate the thought, but it's unnecessary for me."

Law shivered as the room suddenly got a whole lot colder. Perhaps acknowledging the ghost by speaking to it hadn't exactly been the best idea. Though Law had no way of knowing that it was his words that had affected the ghost. The dark haired doctor was about to find out just how much he had gotten the invisible spirit's attention.

Law definitely hadn't been at all prepared for the ghost to jump him.

-x

Kidd was going to fucking kill Law for being such a damn tease. The red head been ignored for all this time, and then the son of a bitch just causally decided to speak to him, without even looking over at him. Kidd was prepared to manhandle Law, but the doctor's words had thrown him for a loop. They had talked about his occupation in the past, but this had been one of the only times Law had actually admitted to killing another person. Or inferring that he had. And he was supposed to be a doctor who saved people's lives.

Thoughts of being rough all but vanished as Kidd took in that damn sexy twisted smirk that Law was still wearing, even though his eyes were closed. Kidd decided that he could leave any punishment until later. The red head was going to go through with his original plan from a few days ago. Kidd was already excited and aroused at the very idea of what he was going to do to Law as he all but launched himself onto the bed at the man.

Kidd laughed when he ended up knocking Law over onto his back, startling the dark haired man and making the smirk fade away into one of surprise. Kidd grinned wolfishly as he rested his weight across Law's waist, giving himself enough room to access the other man's pants. Kidd noticed Law twitch his hands in a motion that meant he was thinking of trying to move away. The red head muttered something crossly under his breath as he reached over with his artificial left limb and seized Law's wrists. Kidd held on with a crushing grip, mainly to let Law know that he wasn't going anywhere until he was done with him. "You're being really fucking weird, doc. But that's fine. It's hot when you act like such a damn prick." Kidd let his right hand drop to Law's belt, "And speaking of that...I think I'm gonna make you beg right now. You know I hate it when you tease me too much."

Kidd found it rather annoying that, as he was undoing the belt, Law only then seemed to come to the realization of what was going on. Especially when Kidd tugged the pants down slightly and out of the way. That the doctor didn't hold still made Kidd wonder if he were actually protesting what he was about to do, or denying that Kidd had caught him at his game, and was trying to feign ignorance. Kidd leaned closer over Law, so that he could breathe against his bare neck. Kidd's grip on Law's wrists tightened ever so slightly as he spoke, "You shouldn't talk about cutting people up and putting them back together if you aren't in the mood. You know that turns me on." Kidd darted his tongue out across Law's throat, smirking when Law swallowed heavily, and shook a little. Though the shaking could have been because Kidd had just slipped his right hand into Law's boxers and grabbed him firmly. Kidd paused momentarily as he slid his hand along, before he leaned his head up and nibbled one of Law's earlobes, his teeth clinking against the earrings that were there.

Kidd found Law squirming to be funny as hell, like the doctor was somehow uncomfortable with the red head giving him a hand job. Well wasn't that just too fucking bad. Because it had been a long time since Kidd had touched his lover, and the red head found that he had while he had missed the doctor, he had missed Law's cock too. Kidd sighed wistfully as he relunctantly released Law's ear, and let go of Law's hands. The position they were in was a bit awkward, and Law was still protesting with small whines, though with the occasional moan thrown in that he couldn't quite hold back.

Such a damn tease.

Kidd used his left arm to snake beneath Law's back, and he lifted the darker haired man up, making him issue a sound of complete and utter shock. Kidd snorted softly. The doctor was beginning to irritate him, still acting like he didn't want this. Kidd leaned Law up against him, using his body to pin one of Law's arms, and using his left hand to pinion Law's other arm against his side. Law made a few quieter protests, but it seemed to Kidd that he had finally given up pretending like he wasn't there. He wasn't struggling as much either, and was blinking blearily around, like he couldn't quite figure out something.

Well, Kidd could give him something to think about. With a sneaky smile, Kidd started to move his hand a little faster, after pulling the doctors boxer's down a little to give him better access. Law jerked a little in surprise, and when his eyes squeezed shut, Kidd's smile widened. Good, the little bastard wasn't going to stop him now. Kidd took his time, occasionally digging a finger down against the tip, just to make the other man writhe. The slight teasing on Kidd's part forced out little sounds from Law, and from those little gasps, it made the red head wonder if the doctor hadn't had his dick handled for a long time. Kidd highly doubted that was the case. He had yet to see the boyfriend that the violet haired man had mentioned, but Kidd presumed that they didn't just fuck and then leave him hanging to take care of himself later.

Kidd heard Law's breath start to hitch, and he leaned in to kiss him, mainly because he couldn't get the image of Law smiling at him in the way he had. Plus, Kidd wanted to kiss him when the doctor came. It got him even more turned on, and Law sometimes even bit him, because he hadn't given him enough time to breathe. It only took a few more strokes to get Law to release, but what shocked Kidd completely was that Law, instead of letting out a scream or moan or something, let out a small, choked sound.

And fainted.

Kidd broke the kiss abruptly, and stared down at the unconscious Law. The red head blinked in complete and utter confusion as he lay the doctor down on the bed. Kidd reluctantly removed his right hand from Law's boxers as he tilted his head. Kidd frowned at the dark haired man sprawled on his back, motionless except for the rapid rise and fall of his chest.

Why the fuck had he passed out?

-x

Law woke, shivering, and unable to move. He felt physically drained, and not just because the ghost had suddenly decided to jump and molest him. It had been unexpected, because Law hadn't planned on his words actually triggering anything. Embarrassingly enough, it had been some time since anyone had touched him in that way. Law lay on his back for several minutes, before he finally was able to move his limbs around and get them to move the way he wanted them to. Law sat up, still shaking slightly. He felt as though almost all of the warmth of his body had been taken from him. Law rubbed his arms in an effort to get his blood circulating, and looked around, as if expecting to see the ghost that had accosted him.

There was, again, no one there, and Law was alone.

A full half hour passed before Law trusted his body enough to stand up, and headed straight for the bathroom. He needed new clothing after that unexpected encounter, and a shower. A very long, and warm, shower. Law pointedly tried to not image those cold lips that had been against him, and smirking, as if amused by his protests and trying to free himself from the unwanted touch.

Law left his head under the water of the shower, trying desperately to forget those same cold lips locking onto his, almost as if in desperation. Law hadn't been able to breathe, and as soon as he had come undone by that unseen hand, he had lost consciousness. Law's body had craved air, and he had been unable to get any with those ghostly lips trying to explore his mouth. Law shuddered and ran his hands over his face beneath the water cascading down on him.

-x

Law struggled to put the incident to the back of his mind. It was just hard to come to grips with the fact that the ghost hadn't left him alone after all. Law frowned in thought as he headed to the kitchen. Why was the ghost or spirit or whatever so fixated on him? Neither Ace or Luffy had mentioned anything about the ghost bothering them.

Just him.

Law entered the kitchen, and was relieved that nether Luffy or Ace were there. He was fairly certain that he hadn't managed to get the rattled look off of his face quite yet. The doctor rummaged around in the fridge, before plucking out some leftovers, and popping it into the microwave to reheat. As he waited for the food to heat up, Law found his eyes drawn to a small mirror over the nearby sink. He figured that either Crocodile had put it there, or that it had been there since...

Law's musings came to a screeching halt as he did a double take of his reflection in the mirror. There was a red haired man standing a few feet behind him, and to his left. The unknown male was far more muscular than Law could ever hope to make his body, and the red head had...an artificial left arm.

Law stumbled to the side as he whipped around, but there was no one standing there. Law felt his heart thudding in his chest from the sudden shock, and the dread that soon began to sink in. That cold metal limb he'd seen in the mirror had been holding him earlier, but Law hadn't seen the red head at the time. Law tried to remain calm, but the fact that he had actually glimpsed what the ghost looked like was just as disturbing as being touched by the other male when he'd been invisible to him.

Law had unfortunately made direct eye contact with the red head in the reflection of the mirror. Even though Law had never seen the scarred male before, the doctor somehow just knew then and there that he wasn't going to be left alone.

The red headed male had been wearing a look of immense satisfaction, presumably because Law had finally seen him.

The dark haired surgeon had no way of knowing that that one look was all it took to make his life begin to spiral downward into a living hell.


	8. Ch 7: Night Job

Law had retreated into the office room on the first floor of the house by the time Ace returned from the store, laden with groceries. Ace had barely made it into the kitchen before Luffy rushed in with a great big grin on his face. Ace set the groceries on the nearby counter and began to put them away, addressing his bother as he worked, "What is it this time? Did you hear ghostly rapping on the wall or something?"

"No, and that only happened one night." Luffy crossed his arms, "And you said that it was faulty pipes."

Ace put some of the food into the fridge, before he glanced over at Luffy, "I said that it _could_ be faulty pipes. I never said anything about it not being a ghost."

Luffy gave Ace an unimpressed look, "You don't even believe in them, and you always tell me that they don't exist."

Ace turned away, and grabbed a sandwich from one of the bags, which he tossed at Luffy, "You can believe all you want, but there's no such thing as ghosts and spirits and things that go bump in the night. That's robbers, by the way. They get their heads bumped by me if they ever try to sneak into a place that I'm living."

"Except that one time it was Grandpa, and you knocked him out." Luffy examined the sandwich he had caught, before taking a bite, "What happened after that anyway?"

The fact that Ace continued to put away the groceries led Luffy to believe that the exchange wasn't exactly pleasant. Luffy munched on the sandwich some more. It was tasty. By the time he had finished it, Ace was done putting the groceries away. It was only then that the younger teen remembered why he had come into the kitchen in the first place. Luffy seized Ace by the arm and tugged him toward the living room, "I found some treasure, Ace! I told you I would find something in this house!"

Ace allowed himself to be all but dragged into the living room, where Luffy let go of him to seize two leather pouches that he had left on the coffee table. Ace sat on the armrest on one end of the couch, and watched as Luffy upended one of the pouches.

A handful of large, golden coins clinked out onto the glass, old but still obviously very valuable.

Ace reached over and picked one up, twisting it this way and that between two fingers, "Where'd you find it?"

"Down in the basement."

Ace gave Luffy a look, "The basement Law wanted you to stay out of?"

"I didn't touch anything down there, other than the brick wall. That's where I found the bags. They were hidden behind some bricks."

"A brick wall that you'll now have to fix, or the person that Law is renting the house from is liable to get upset."

"I already put the bricks back. It doesn't even look like anything had been done to it." Luffy upended the other leather pouch over the table, and a ring fell out with a flash of gold and silver. A tiny, folded up piece of paper, faded with age, fluttered out after the ring. Luffy didn't seem to be as interested in the ring, but he carefully unfolded the piece of paper. It could be a treasure map. Luffy was very disappointed that it only had writing on it, so he set it aside. The golden coins were far more interesting to him now.

Ace examined the coin he held more closely. Just from a brief glance, it was obvious that the coin was very old, and there was no date on them. Only engravings and other markings, none of which made much sense to him. It almost resembled the golden medallions that Luffy was always yammering on about that pirates had in their treasure chests. Because pitates were always after treasure, and gold was one of the more valuable ones. Ace set the coin back down, ignoring Luffy scooping it up to look at it.

Ace's hand strayed to the ring, and picked it up. He held it up, and inspected it closely as he had the coin. The outside of the ring had gold and silver weaving in and out of one another, forming the ring itself. On the inside of the ring, it was all silver, and while it was tarnished with age, Ace could just make out a thin script that wove its way all around the inside of it. Ace set the ring back down on the table, and picked up the note that his brother had unfolded, but dismissed as uninteresting. It was small. Only about three by four inches, and the majority of it was taken up by neat handwriting.

Even though the text that had been scrawled had faded with time, Ace could still make out what it said:

_E._

_I picked this up the other day from one of my 'transactions'. Thought you'd be able to make some money off it because it has gold in it._

_I do hope you're ready to pay for what you did last week. _

_I'll see you soon, though it'll be when you least expect it._

_T._

Ace wasn't sure what to make of that, but he pocketed the ring while Luffy wasn't looking. Since the person who had received the ring hadn't pawned it off, maybe he would be able to see how much it was worth.

A shadow fell across the back of the couch, but when Ace turned around, the shadow was gone. Ace did hear what sounded like a door being closed, but he dismissed it as Law doing the action. He hadn't realized that the doctor was still holed up in the office.

-x

The whispers, Law had decided, were by far one of the most aggravating new developments he'd had to deal with since seeing the red head in the reflection of the mirror. The sounds and noises and whispers were all much more audible than they had been before. It was a male voice, and the tone was normally either angry or annoyed. Law presumed those emotions were aimed at him, for whatever reason, and by the ghost that was haunting the house.

Law had also begun to catch glimpses of the red head in other mirrors in the house, as if the ghost were trying to communicate with him. The dark haired doctor tried very hard to avoid looking directly at the red head, and had even began to avoid any and all reflective surfaces altogether.

The only time Law seemed to be able to escape from the ghost stalking him was at work. In short order, the hospital soon became his sanctuary. A place where the surgeon could go to ground himself and rationalize things. If he were calm and collected, Law had a much better time being able to ignore the ghostly intrusions into his life when he had to return to the house.

Law didn't realize that the more time he spent in the house, the more the ghost seemed to try and latch onto him, as if it was in desperate need for interaction. Law wasn't about to sympathize with it. The red headed ghost was dead, so that meant it should have moved on by now. Law was quite done with being touched unexpectedly, and feeling as if he had been drenched with cold water.

-x

"Law?"

Law paused mid-step at the mention of his name, and turned to see Monet walking toward him.

Monet held back a laugh at the questioning look Law wore on his face, "Don't be so suspicious." The green haired woman lowered her voice, "Can we talk?"

Law immediately picked up on her tone, and nodded, speaking aloud as a nurse walked by, "Yes, I'd like to get some information on a patient."

Monet beamed at him with a practiced smile, "Right this way, doctor."

Inside the file room, clearly alone with no eavesdroppers, Monet held out a scrap of paper to Law, "The boss was hoping you had time to do something for him. If it worked in with your schedule."

Law looked at the short hand written request, a little hesitant when he realized what it was that Doflamingo wanted him to do. However, it provided an opportunity to spend more time away from the house. Eventually, Law spoke aloud, "How discreet would I need to be?"

"Not very. The guy in question is going to be alone, so it should be quick for you if you move fast enough." Monet shook her head, "It'll need to look like an accident, but if you can't manage that, then make it seem like a robbery gone bad. That would be fine too."

"When?" Law asked, still studying the paper silently.

"Tonight." Seeing the weary glare thrown her way, Monet added, "You get done with work in a few hours. You won't have to worry about the cops. They'll be busy with something else that will coincide with the hit." Monet was silent as she watched Law think about it, before adding, "I know you don't particularly care for assassinations, but the boss believes that you'd be able to take care of it on your own."

"...I suppose if I go in prepared things will turn out all right. And that means I'll have to stop by the house to get ready, if Doflamingo-ya wants it done tonight." Law wondered if he ought to mention to the blond that he'd rather only do smuggling runs if he really wanted him to still work for him on occasion.

Monet left the room with a wave of her hand, "You'll get a call at the house when you get back from work, with some details."

-x

Law went through his day without much thought about his new plans for the night, or his slowly increasing problem with the ghost in the house. Law had almost gone back to tell Monet to have Doflamingo call his cell, but he knew that his on again, off again boss wanted a secure line. Which was what Crocodile would have put into the house.

Law was ready for the phone when it rang, and picked it up as soon as he knew that neither Ace nor Luffy were within hearing distance. Law didn't even give the other man time to speak, "You know, Doflamingo-ya, if you want me to kill someone for you, you should just give me a call. You didn't have to have someone else offer the job to me."

Doflamingo laughed at that, _"Fufufufu. I figured that you would say no if I called you, doctor."_ There was a slight pause, before he spoke again, tone questioning, _"You'll do it?"_

"Yes, I'll do it. Who is it, and where are they going to be tonight?" Law picked up a scrap of paper and scribbled down the information that Doflamingo relayed to him. Law frowned, "I thought he was working for you." Law felt the temperature in the room start to drop, and he set his jaw, determined to ignore the red headed ghost.

_"Bellamy is a little too overzealous, so we need to stop that before he exposes all of us. I've had quite a lot of trouble trying to keep things covered up, but some of the cops are starting to become a little suspicious." _

"You want me to handle him on my own?" Law wasn't at all surprised to hear that Bellamy, and some others, for that matter, who occasionally worked for Doflamingo weren't being as discreet as they should have been. They seemed to think that they could do anything and get away with it, but there was a point that even Doflamingo couldn't fully keep things from getting out.

_"You should give yourself more credit Law. You can be very nasty when you want to be."_

"Provided that I have enough time to act before he tries to attack me when he realizes what's going on." Law really didn't like the sound of this, but figured that he did want a distraction from his ghostly problems. Law looked away from movement that he caught out of the corner of his eyes.

_"Do you want me to have someone else do it?"_

"...No, I'll handle it. Just make sure someone deals with the body when I'm done." Law closed his eyes briefly as the room temperature dropped further, and twitched when he felt an unseen hand brush across one of his legs. He really didn't need this right now.

_"Give me a call when you're finished, and I'll send someone out."_

"I'll do that." Law hung up, moving a little more quickly than was necessary, because the hand that had brushed up against his leg had just squeezed his thigh. Law was silent as he gathered what he needed for the night. The red headed ghost had followed him, thanks to the rather chilled air that lingered in every room that he went into. Law pointedly ignored it, and as soon as he was ready, he went out the front of the house, and shut the door behind him. Law walked a few steps, and while he shivered, he figured that it was just the brisk night air.

-x

Kidd followed after Law, though he had to open the door again when Law shut it on him. Bastard. This whole ignoring him was starting to grate on his nerves...

Kidd grit his teeth, as a sudden wave of vertigo hit him, and he swayed just over the threshold of the front door. It almost felt as if he was being held back from exiting the house by some unseen force. Kidd pulled against the sensation, and started to strain more forcefully when he began to hear a very, very faint voice telling him not to go. To stay there in the house. Kidd blocked out the barely there voice, as he was far more intent on tagging along after Law. He wanted to see what his lover was getting up to. From the phone call the red head had just overheard, it had sounded like it was going to be dangerous, and illegal. Two things Kidd quite liked.

The sensation of being held back slowly diminished, and Kidd almost felt that someone or something was disappointed that he was leaving the house. Kidd quickly dismissed the idea of ghosts and spirits. He wasn't going to deal with that fucking shit. He wasn't a very superstitious person anyway. Kidd cast a glance back at his house, and thought he saw someone standing in the window to the right of the front door. Kidd did a double take, but when he looked back, there was nothing there. Kidd spat a curse and turned away. The red head immediately laid the blame on Law for what he'd just thought he'd seen. The skinny son of a bitch had been ignoring him for so long that Kidd was starting to imagine seeing things that weren't actually there.

Kidd caught up with Law a few moments later, before he slowed to a leisurely pace, and followed along after the dark haired doctor. Kidd was interested in what Law was going to do with all of the dangerous toys he had brought with him. Kidd was feeling a little left out, and offended, that his lover hadn't offered for him to join him.

-x

Back inside the house, in the cellar-basement, the sound of footsteps pacing back and forth, while still faint, increased in frequency. The scraping and scratching noise from behind the boiler increased in its intensity, and went on for hours without any one noticing it.

And as suddenly as it had started, it ended, almost as if it had never been there. A feeling of sadness, disappointment, and complete and utter frustration had seemed hang in the air during the cacophony of sound. But as soon as the noises had stopped, so had the melancholic and frustrated air.


	9. Ch 8: Face to Face

Law had only been gone from the house with his ghostly tag along for a short time when Ace was woken up by a sudden thumping sound. Since the older teen was half asleep at the time, he wasn't as concerned about whether or not it was an intruder. Or that it could be some kind of paranormal phenomena. Eyes glanced at the clock. One. Ace was ready to go back to sleep, only minimally annoyed that Law was still up and making noise. It wouldn't have bothered Ace at all had he actually _wanted_ to stay awake into the early morning hours. Ace's eyes slipped close as he tried to fall back asleep.

The noises continued, however, and Ace rolled over in his bed with a sigh when it didn't stop. He heard footsteps wandering up and down the stairs, and had been hearing it for the past half hour or so. He just couldn't get back to sleep for some reason because of all of the pacing. It had to be Law, so why wasn't the doctor keeping it down? Ace kept quiet when he felt like a little late night wandering, mainly because he didn't want anyone to know he was up. He liked to go out on early morning strolls on occasion, while sometimes setting something on fire when he noticed someone acting suspiciously. Ace was still waiting for Garp to call him on his most recent fiery escapade involving a burglar, a trash can, and a pogo stick.

Just as Ace was about to get out of bed to confront Law about all of his wandering around, the footsteps halted abruptly. Ace shifted when heard the bedroom door creak open, and craned his head over to frown at the half open door.

There was no one there.

Ace glanced over to check on Luffy, and saw that his brother was fast asleep and snoring. Ace reluctantly got up out of bed and walked over to the door, and peered out. He glanced left, and then right, before passing a look over the staircase.

Nothing.

Ace turned his head to the right again, and could see that Law's bedroom door was closed. Ace sleepily shut the door and went over to his bed to flop back down onto it, not bothering with the covers this time. Ace soon drifted back to sleep, attributing the door opening to it being warped, and the footsteps as the house settling on its foundation. Law was more than likely asleep since his door was closed.

The room the two teens were sleeping in began to grow a little cooler, and something suddenly tugged at the pocket which Ace had slipped the ring into. A soft noise sounded, almost like a sigh, before the cold retreated. The bedroom door opened a crack, and a shadowy figure could soon be seen heading down the staircase. Quiet, echoing footsteps accompanied its movement, though the shadow faded from view as soon as it reached the door that led to the basement.

And the house was silent again, as if nothing had happened.

-x

Law reached the line of houses that were in varying states of disrepair, and knew that he was close to his destination. Law paused on the street corner, feigning interest in a bus line schedule as he eyed the warehouse on the other side of the street, diagonal to where he was standing. Law was waiting to hear sirens, which would indicate that the diversion had been started. Law figured that he would only have to wait a few minutes. He dealt with the cold of the night by shivering every once and awhile. It seemed to be a little cooler than the night before.

Sirens began to blare in the distance, and Law took that as his signal to start. The dark haired man readied himself, and carefully stole across the street to the warehouse, which had the address that Doflamingo had given him over the phone. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Law entered the building cautiously, careful to keep as silent as possible. According to Doflamingo, Bellamy had been expecting to be given some money and a position in Doflamingo's so-called company, in return for not ratting out anyone else that Bellamy knew of who worked in Doflamingo's 'family'. Whether or not they did illegal jobs. That the man wasn't worried about being exposed himself made Law wonder if he actually thought he was being discreet.

Law eyed the main area of the warehouse quietly, eyes darting back and forth across crates that were scattered here and there. There were only a few lights that lit the building, and Law headed toward them, presuming that that was where Bellamy had chosen to meet. He was unsurprised that he was correct, as he spotted the other man standing there and waiting, and a little impatiently at that. Things didn't seem to be going the way Law had believed they would, because as soon as Bellamy caught sight of him, he laughed.

"Well well well, look who's here. Doflamingo's little pet doctor. Or should I say you're a smuggler or a murderer?" Bellamy laughed again, "What the hell is he doing sending you out here for?"

Law was thinking fast in the face of this unexpected start to the conversation. This wasn't at all going the way he had planned. If Bellamy figured out what he was really there for, Law was going to be in for one nasty fight. Unfortunately for him, Bellamy had already made a decision, and it was one that gave Law no time to think.

"Doesn't matter why it was you, but..." Bellamy gave a nasty snigger, before he suddenly lunged at Law, "...I think it works out just fine. I was planning on taking down whoever Doflamingo sent. Maybe that would get him to let me work for him more often. Do the jobs that pay better. Especially if I'm better then someone he already favors!"

Law quickly sidestepped and backed out of Bellamy's range to avoid being grabbed in the other man's crushing grip. Law felt, in that moment, that Doflamingo should have sent someone else. While Law could do just fine in a fight, that was only true when it was a brief one. The dark haired doctor didn't have the strength to overpower an opponent like this, unlike some other people he knew of. Law was at his best when he was able to launch an attack of surprise, and move swiftly before his opponent could react.

Law circled Bellamy carefully, looking for an opening that he could use to his advantage. Law inwardly cursed Doflamingo for thinking that he could handle this all on his own, instead of requesting that he do a smuggling operation. Those the dark haired doctor was much better at. When he had had to do assassination hits in the past, he had been assisting the another person, after they had immobilized their target.

Law tripped in a crack in the concrete ground, and his balance was thrown off, leaving himself wide open for an attack. He knew that Bellamy would take advantage of it, so he braced himself for the other man to crash into him. Law was knocked against some of the crates in the semi dark corner of the warehouse, and was forced down to the ground. Law immediately thrashed around in a desperate attempt to prevent the more muscular man from getting a hand wrapped around his throat. Law slipped a hand into his jacket pocket quickly, and rammed the object he took out into Bellamy.

Law didn't see where he'd stuck the other man with the needle, but knew he had gotten it in when the other man snarled furiously. Law bit back a choked cry when Bellamy seized the arm and slammed it to the ground to prevent him from doing something like that again. Law acted before Bellamy could do something about it other arm, and brought out a stun gun, which he jammed against the other's abdomen roughly, and shocked him. The shock seemed to have done some good, but Bellamy was too focused to let something like it alter his course of action.

Law found, after a few brief seconds, that he was unable to prevent Bellamy from wrapping his free hand around his throat. Law lashed out with one leg as he gasped for breath, but his efforts didn't amount to much as he continued to be slowly choked. Just before Law felt he would pass out from the lack of oxygen, he felt the pressure vanish abruptly from his throat as Bellamy let out a scream of pain. But even with the pressure now gone, Law found that he couldn't quite get his breath back yet.

As he faded in and out on the border of unconsciousness, Law thought that he heard a voice calling out to him. Angry, yet at the same time insistent. Demanding, but with an underlying tone of fear. A cold settled around him. Then Law was down and out.

-x

Kidd wasn't prone to fear or panic, but as soon as he'd seen the other man go after Law, he'd felt them. Fear that the doctor was going to be harmed, and then panic that he wouldn't be able to get to him in time to prevent that. Irrational anger took root, and it soon drowned out any other emotion that he may have had as Kidd rapidly approached the laughing lunatic who was now strangling Law. And obviously not intending to let him ever breathe again. While Kidd liked seeing Law blue in the face sometimes, he'd never done it with the intent to kill the other man.

Kidd promptly attacked the man pinning his dark haired lover down without a second's thought. The terrified sounds that came from the man suddenly being pulled away from Law did nothing to satisfy the red head. Not yet, anyway. Kidd's hands closed around the bastard's neck and squeezed. He wasn't going to allow anyone to take Law away from him. He would kill anyone who harmed Law other than himself. Kill anyone that tried to make him vanish from his life again. Kidd had already been apart from Law for too long once before. The red head was never going to go through all the pain of being all alone ever again.

Kidd dropped Bellamy, who had stopped breathing moments before. Sneering at the still body, Kidd moved away from it and over to where Law was gasping in air. Kidd kneeled down and lifted Law up, holding him in his arms more carefully than he normally would, and checked him over. Kidd wanted to make sure that the other son of the bitch lying on the ground nearby hadn't permanently injured him.

Kidd could see that Law was breathing a little more rapidly than was normal, but otherwise Bellamy choking him didn't appear to have done anything that wouldn't heal in the next day or so. Kidd's shoulders sagged with relief as he went from kneeling to sitting. Kidd would never have let Law see him worry about him like this, but the red head couldn't help but sometimes think that his lover enjoyed trying to scare him to death.

Kidd set Law down on the ground carefully, before he settled down next to him. Kidd ran a hand though Law's hair lightly and breathed out a sigh. He was going to get Law back for making him worry. He'd never seen the dark haired doctor attacked before, because Law had only come to Kidd's house to see him, or, on the rare occasion, an inn, when Kidd was away from the house on business.

Kidd wasn't the only one with an occupation, but while Law's was legit, Kidd's wasn't. He hadn't been back in some time, so it wouldn't surprise him at all if his cut of the money was being taken from him the longer he was gone. Kidd wrapped his right arm around Law's waist and pulled him a little closer. He didn't care about the money. He could always find ways of getting it if he really needed it.

Right now, Kidd just wanted Law to wake up, so he could get angry at him for almost making him lose him.

-x

Law opened his eyes, his mind slowly coming back on line. He held still for several moments, as if he expected Bellamy to come and attack him again.

Nothing of the sort happened.

Law sat up stiffly, and looked around warily. He was still in the warehouse, from the looks of it, but Bellamy was nowhere in sight. Damn. He'd gotten away. Doflamingo wasn't going to be happy about that.

"About damn time."

Law started, and he glanced to the side quickly to where the voice had sounded from. Law froze in place at the sight of the red headed ghost leaning casually against a crate, watching him with an intense gaze. Law tried to make sense of what he was seeing. He thought that the ghost was invisible to him expect when he looked in a mirror or other reflective surface.

But the ghost didn't look see through right now, and the scarred male was wearing a very displeased look, even if he also seemed to be glad to see that Law was moving around. Though it was hard to tell if it was genuine concern, since the red head had started to scowl.

Kidd pushed away from the crate and approached Law, impatient as well as offended that the doctor was looking at him as if he'd never seen him before. It really got Kidd mad when Law back pedaled away from him by skittering backwards across the floor, not quite able to get himself to his feet. Kidd followed after him, content to let his lover act like a fool until he had Law trapped up against another crate.

Law's eyes quickly darted around the immediate area, looking for an escape route. With the red headed male prowling toward him with a glint in his eyes that Law didn't like, the doctor felt he just needed to run. He could worry about where he was going later, provided it got him away from this ghost. Just as Law made the decision to throw himself away from the crate and into a run, the red head slammed his hands against the crate on either side of Law's head. Law drew his knees up close to his body, and instead of feeling afraid by the action, he started to get angry.

Kidd ignored the look that Law was throwing him. Keeping his arms in place to keep Law from bolting away, Kidd slowly lowered himself until he was resting on his knees. Kidd leaned in, and made eye contact with Law, who in turn pressed his back up against the crate further. Kidd scowled at him, "You can stop acting like a fucking dumbass any time now, Trafalgar."

Law had no idea what the red head was talking about, but the use of his name made Law wonder if the other man thought he knew him.

Kidd leaned in closer, but displeased when Law moved away slightly. Kidd saw that the doctor was now openly glaring at him, as if daring him to try and get any closer. Kidd grinned, not noticing the almost invisible flinch when he invaded Law's space some more, and breathed against his neck, "I hate that you've been ignoring me all the time." Kidd rested his chin on Law's shoulder as his hands moved so that they were pressed on the crate on either side of Law's shoulders, further boxing his lover in to keep him from running. Kidd had had enough of the bullshit, and was ready for the doctor to apologize and to stop acting like he wasn't some stranger. Not that Law was prone to apologizing.

Law was motionless for a moment as his mind processed the red heads' words, all the while trying very hard to ignore the other's breath against his neck. It suddenly made sense to Law why this ghost, whatever, had been only fixated on him in the house. Law obviously reminded the red head of someone he knew, but Law didn't like the implications of that. Law knew he had to do something to get out of this when the red head, who was almost pressed up against him by now, spoke again.

"I think I'm gonna have to punish you for making me wait. For pretending that you don't know who I am."


	10. Ch 9: Denial

Law held perfectly still, acutely aware of the arms that were tense on either side of his head. The doctor's mind was still trying to make sense of what he was seeing, but he wasn't going to remain quiet anymore. He didn't like the way this ghost was acting toward him. Law lifted his head so that he could look the other directly in the eyes, and the doctor wore an irritated glare as he spoke, "I don't know who the hell you are. Leave me alone already. I'm not who…" Law's words were cut off as the red head's right hand suddenly closed around his throat. Law felt the hand squeeze lightly, making it clear that the other man could easily tighten it at any time. Law glared at the red head, not appreciating being treated in this manner.

Kidd narrowed his eyes in return, matching the doctor's glare with one of his own. He kept a firm grip on Law's throat, his metal left hand still on the crate next to Law's shoulder. He'd been temporarily rendered speechless at the doctor's words, before his temper got the better of him, and Kidd growled in a low tone, "That's getting real old, Trafalgar. I know you like messing with me, but this is sick, even for you." Kidd squeezed his hand around the dark haired man's throat a little further when he tried to inch away. Kidd ducked his head down, so that he was level with his lover's face, "And my name isn't 'hey you' or 'stop that'. It's Eustass Kidd." The red head tightened his grip further, and it made the doctor's eyes slip shut as he struggled to breathe from his restricted airway. Kidd leaned in even closer, so that he could breathe against the crook of Law's neck, alongside where his hand was still choking him. The red head could feel Law tremble a little, whether from the lack of oxygen reaching his brain, or from the red head being closer to him. "If you wanna still be ignorant and play around, then fine." Kidd traced the side of Law's neck with his lips, moving his right hand slightly, "But I'm starting to get a bit bored, so you better be prepared for the consequences."

Law reached up with his hands to seize the red head's hand, trying and failing to get the other man, Kidd, to let go of his throat. Law twitched, momentarily distracted when Kidd bit down hard on his shoulder. Law made a thin, disgrunrled sound as Kidd growled something unintelligible against his shoulder, and the doctor again tried to force Kidd's hand away from his throat. Law couldn't breathe properly, and he had already had Bellamy try to choke him out earlier. He didn't need this crazy red headed ghost to try to do something similar. Law gasped as Kidd abruptly released his shoulder from the harsh bite, and sent Law reeling when he let go of his throat suddenly.

While the doctor struggled to regain his breath, Kidd's hands dropped to Law's belt, and began to unbuckle it. The red head slapped Law's hand away when his lover tried to stop him. Kidd locked eyes with Law, his expression unamsued, "Knock it off, Trafalgar, or I'm gonna have to tie you up." Kidd all but ripped Law's pants down once he got the belt undone, and tugged his boxers off and out of the way. Kidd held the dark haired man's hips down when Law tried to back away. Just as Kidd leaned forward, he suddenly came to a complete halt when Law's hands shot out and pressed up against his bare chest. Kidd was momentarily taken aback, mainly due to the fact that Law was actually touching him, and not trying to push him away.

Law had no idea why Kidd had stopped moving closer to him, but from the angle the doctor was leaning, it didn't give him enough leverage to push the red head away from him completely. The most Law could manage was to brace his hands against the other man's chest. For the moment it was keeping Kidd from getting any closer, and Law needed to try and get his message across. He was already uncomfortable enough as it was being half naked and leaned over by someone who outweighed and outmuscled him. Law winced when Kidd seemed to have made some internal decision, as the red head had just squeezed his hips more tightly than was really necessary.

"I'm serious about tying you up if you don't stop it already, you skinny son of a bitch."

That was it. Law hated the arrogance and the gall of the red head to demand that he do something. Law despised someone telling him what to do in the first place, and the fact that this damn ghost was doing that made him angry. Law kept his hands pressed against the other man's chest as he snarled back at Kidd, done with this bastard harassing him and touching him, "I really don't know who the hell you are! You can tell me your name, but it still doesn't ring any bells. I've never met you before in my life!" Law's eyes met widened amber ones as he finished hotly, "Whoever you think I am, you're wrong. So stop acting like you know me and leave me alone!" Law fell silent, and thought that the words may have gotten through to Kidd, because the red headed male still looked shocked at what he'd just said.

Kidd didn't know what to do. Law's words had been completely unexpected, and even though the red head figured that the doctor was still playing around with him, it hurt. Not something Kidd was used to feeling, if ever. Not in the emotional sense, anyway. Kidd was no stranger to being physically hurt, but this...this was different, and Kidd didn't like how it felt. Not. At. All. Law was a sick son of a bitch. Kidd locked eyes with the dark haired doctor, and decided that things had gone far enough. Kidd's eyes flashed dangerously, and he gave Law no time to rect as he seized the other man's arms roughly, and threw him flat on the ground. Kidd refrained from digging a knee into Law's back to keep him down, and instead forced the doctor's arms behind his back, and secured them there with the belt he had pulled free moments before.

Kidd was going to let Law know just how much he didn't appreciate what had just been said to him.

Kidd felt the dark haired man immediately struggle at the action of his hands behind forced behind his back, and Kidd roughly swatted him across his bare ass. The red head really wasn't in the mood for Law fucking around with him right now. Kidd snorted in dark amusement when the doctor immediately stilled after the stinging strike. Kidd turned Law more gently onto his back, and saw that at least his lover's body was being honest. Kidd moved in close so that he could run his tongue across Law's throat. It made the doctor swallow, and Kidd could feel the pulse leaping in time to his rapid heart beats. Kidd ran a hand down along Law's side, drawing forth a shiver the lower he went. Instead of issuing a protest, Law merely let out a faint sound, like he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do now.

Kidd was satisfied for the time being as he moved his head up to Law's so that he could whisper in the other's ear, "That's better. Don't lie to me like that."

Law was beginning to think that there was something wrong with him. Wrong in the way that his body was being slowly turned on by all of the now light touches that Kidd was doing to him. Law squeezed his eyes shut again. He wanted to be dreaming, he had to be dreaming, but Law couldn't do anything. Everything felt so real, and his body was obviously craving another's touch, and he was disturbed that he was allowing Kidd, this ghost, to do whatever it felt like with him.

Law felt Kidd's hand dip lower, and the doctor strained against the belt binding his hands behind his back. He couldn't stop Kidd, but he was going to keep trying anyway, "Stop...doing that."

Kidd almost rolled his eyes in exasperation when Law started to protest again, and in gasping breaths, at that. It really was getting old, and it was obvious that his lover was enjoying what he was doing. So Law should just shut up and enjoy it, instead of being an aggravating bastard. When the doctor continued to make complaints between gasps and moans, Kidd decided he'd have to do something about it.

Kidd slid his artificial left hand up to tilt Law's head to the side, which allowed him to lick and nip along the flesh, before he drowned Law's forthcoming words in a kiss. The doctor was really starting to get on his nerves with all of his denials.

Law's mind went momentarily blank when Kidd drew him into a demanding kiss, and was horrified to find himself responding to it. Mainly due to the fact that he hated anyone trying to drag him along at their own pace. Law didn't think at the time that he was merely adding to Kidd's delusion that he was somehow playing with him, when in reality Law was just fed up with the red head thinking that he was someone he wasn't.

Kidd was ridiculously pleased at the small gesture, and the hesitation before the doctor tried to join in on the kiss. Kidd would never have admitted aloud that it made him stupidly happy. Even if Law was currently trying to bite him to make him stop. The fucking doctor really _was_ just messing with his mind. Kidd broke the kiss, and smirked down at the dark haired man's dazed and confused expression, and then the immediate averting of his eyes, a faint trace of a blush visible across his cheeks.

Kidd wanted to fuck Law then and there, but restrained himself. Punishment. He needed to punish Law a little first, for being such a jackass for ignoring and tormenting him. Besides, Kidd almost never got to see the other man blush, and the red head found that he loved seeing it whenever the man's calm, usually faintly smirking expression would give way. Kidd grinned lopsidedly at Law, before he moved slowly down, and shoved either of Law's knees to the side, and knelt down between them. He saw that the doctor's mind had come back on line, and from his expression when he realized what Kidd had planned. When Law started to try and move away, Kidd merely rested his hands on the doctor's hips, and held him down as he leaned over.

Law's head fell back against the ground as he felt Kidd's mouth close over him, and began to take him in bit by bit. His hips bucked a little at the red head's sudden action, and writhed the faintest amount as Kidd's chuckle sent a jolt up his spine. Law couldn't even find the words to protest, and wasn't sure he would have been able to at that point in time, but...

-x

Law gave a low gasp as he jerked awake from the vivid dream. His breath came in uneven and rapid pants, as if he'd still been pinned to the ground by Kidd. Law shakily sat upright, and cautiously let his eyes rove around the immediate area, as if he had expected Kidd to be right there and ready to pounce on him again. When it was clear that the red head was nowhere in view, Law strove to calm himself as he looked the area over once more. He appeared to still be in the warehouse, like before, when he had 'woken' up and seen Kidd. Only the dark haired doctor's clothes were all still on, and Bellamy was lying motionless on the ground nearby, and very obviously dead.

Law took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Slightly calmer than before, Law rose slowly, and cautiously moved toward the dead man on the ground when he saw no other movement around him. The doctor stooped to check Bellamy over, careful not to touch him, since he hadn't remembered to bring any gloves with him. Law frowned a little as he decided that the stun gun would not have been able to kill Bellamy; it had only startled the other man. Law considered the injection he'd given Bellamy during their brief tussle, but Law didn't think that it would have worked so quickly, or had a high enough dosage to actually have been lethal.

Law needed to think of something to tell Doflamingo, when Law caught sight of what looked like imprints of hands on the dead man's neck, and noted that while one hand had dug in and left nail marks, the other hadn't.

A chill went up Law's spine, and he quickly left the warehouse, leaving the dead Bellamy behind for Doflamingo to have someone take care of it. If he could remember to give the man a call when he got back to the house. As Law walked down the sidewalk, he pulled his collar up slightly to ward off the brisk night air. Even though the dark haired doctor knew he was alone at the moment, he couldn't shake the feelng that he was being watched the entire way back to the house. Law wondered if that red head, Eustass Kidd, the ghost, was following him right now. But that couldn't be. Law thought, from his limited knowledge of what the dead supposedly could do if they lingered around after death, was that they were restricted to the place they died in. That they couldn't follow a living person around outside of that zone.

Law began to wonder if he had just imagined the red head cornering him in the warehouse like that. Just as Law was about to reassure himself that it had been a dream, and an unnerving one that obviously meant he needed to go out more often, a faint, echoing voice spoke. It chilled Law down to the bone when he recognized it as Kidd's voice. It sounded close by, as if the red head were following along after him on the sidewalk. Or even right beside him...

'_You can run all you want, but I know you'll always come back to me, Trafalgar...'_

Law broke into a run, and even if it seemed ridiculous, he snapped irritably through clenched teeth, "Leave me the hell alone!" While Law shouldn't have lost his composure over a ghost, the dark haired surgeon couldn't stand the idea of this thing following him around and harassing him not only in the house, but outside of it as well. Even his dreams weren't a safe. Wasn't there anywhere he could go to make the ghost leave him alone?

-x

Kidd followed along after his lover at a leisurely place, and wondered why in the hell Law was being so damn stubborn. If Kidd hadn't had issues with expressing some of his emotions, the red head would have felt that his feelings had been hurt. And had been hurt numerous times over since Law had finally come back to him.

Kidd's expression darkened as he entered his house, and watched as Law secluded himself in the master bedroom. The red head was going to have to have to get a little rougher. Kidd wasn't going to let Law continue to insult him like this for much longer. But it seemed he would have to back off for a short time, and pick the right time to try again.

Kidd _would_ get through to Law one way or another, and he didn't care how much violence he would have to resort to get to that point.

But Kidd still loved the doctor, in his own twisted way. He'd have never admitted it out loud, however. The doctor was the more romantic one, spouting off nauseating lines with infuriating ease that easily cut through whatever tough exterior Kidd may have tired to put up. Kidd leaned against the wall next to the short door that led to the cellar, and frowned at the thought. It had pissed him off at first that the dark haired man had such an effect on him, but it was what eventually got Kidd to try to get into a relationship with the sly son of a bitch in the first place.

Kidd thought he felt a hand slide up his right arm in a feather light touch, but knew that it was just his imagination. Kidd headed for the stairs, a scowl passing across his features. He hated that Law made him feel emotions that he still wasn't quite comfortable admitting that he actually had. Kidd paused outside of the closed master bedroom door, and his scowl deepened. He was going to have to find a way to let Law know that he didn't appreciate the damn mind games.

Kidd slipped into the bedroom, and settled in the corner on a chair to watch Law sleep. While the red head wanted to continue where he left off, he couldn't help but admire Law's persistence. Kidd didn't think he could pretend to not know the doctor without eventually caving in. But Kidd liked it, sometimes, when Law played hard to get.

If the dark haired doctor didn't act the way he did in the first place, Kidd would have gotten bored with him a long time ago.


	11. Ch 10: Confusion

The night time visits began to become more frequent after the encounter Law had had with Kidd in the warehouse. After a month and a half, it was beginning to get to the point that the only sleep Law was able to get was during the daytime. Even though Kidd seemed to be able to manifest whenever he wished, it seemed he preferred to not do it during daylight hours. The red head didn't seem to be interested in doing anything during those times other than cause an occasional cold spot.

Kidd's actions, especially during the night time, had begun to affect Law's work schedule. The doctor was still able to make it to the hospital on time, and got by on a low amount of sleep through massive amounts of caffeine that helped to keep him awake. He knew it wasn't good for a doctor, and a surgeon at that, to be hopped up on caffeine, but Law made sure he had enough people in the room when he had a surgery to preform to assist him. So far, over the past month, no one had made any comment over Law's caffeine regime to remain awake. Some of the nurses had, however, expressed concern over the surgeon taking cat naps in any empty room he could find when he wasn't actively working.

Law was determined to make things work for the best, and in any way he could. Even if that meant naps in weird places. Law wasn't about to lose his job over some jilted ghost that seemed to think he was its lover or something twisted like that. It certainly seemed to be the case since Kidd always kept trying to touch him. And continue to touch him despite Law's vehement protests whenever the red head happened to make a move on him.

That the ghost could even touch him in the first place was what drove Law up the wall in the first place. Law felt he could handle the occasional and rather personal touching, until Kidd had started to invade his dreams at a more frequent basis.

That was when things began to get worse. The touches and whispers grew more frequent after the warehouse dream, and the dreams after that grew into longer and very realistic dreams that forced Law to see and hear Kidd more clearly.

It made Law's job harder because when that had begun to happen, the doctor started to doze off at the hospital more often. It was only Monet's timely assistance that helped Law avoid being caught in the act of snoring propped up on either a table, or in some cases, a sink in the men's bathroom. Something had to be done, and just when Law didn't know how much more he could take, Kidd finally backed off again, like he had before.

Law spent a glorious week ghost free, and was glad of it, because he had sorely needed the uninterrupted sleep. The bags under his eyes had deepened to a degree that he didn't see normally. Sure they were there most of the time, since he was depriving him of sleep most of the time during work anyway. Law was also glad of the break he was getting from the red headed ghost, because Law had noticed that even Ace and Luffy had started to wonder if there was something wrong with him. In that Ace had been joking around that a ghost, if they did actually exist, wouldn't be interested in hanging around because Law would bore it into a second death. Luffy had merely bombarded Law with questions of whether ghosts had to use the bathroom in the afterlife. Law had stuck to merely not being able to fall asleep in his responses, and not because of something paranormal harassing him.

By day six of no ghostly activity, Law himself was starting to wonder if he were losing it from the lack of sleep he had been getting. Had he actually imagined Kidd after all? Was sleep deprivation making him imagine things, even so far as his dreams? Law tried to chalk it up to imagination, but there was no way to explain away all of the times he could remember Kidd actually touching him. It seemed too vivid to have all been in his imagination.

The house seemed strangely empty for that week, but it was all just a ruse to catch the dark haired doctor off guard.

Kidd was merely biding his time, as he watched and waited for the right moment to try and get Law to admit that he knew him. And the doctor all alone in the hospital one night seemed the perfect opportunity. One that Kidd would gladly take.

He was tired of his lover running away from him.

-x

Law left for work early on the beginning of the eighth day free of any and all paranormal activity. As the surgeon went through his day worry free, he found that as the evening drew closer, signaling the end of his shift, Law felt hesitant to return to the house. Even though nothing had happened of note for the past week. Law hoped that it meant that Kidd had finally gotten the message about the doctor not being who the red head thought he was.

Law looked down at a document he had in a file, and frowned at his own thoughts. It almost seemed to Law that getting rid of his unseen follower had been too easy. Law felt that way mainly because he hadn't liked that the last words he'd heard from the red head the night of the warehouse incident. That he, Law, would always come back to the red head. The dark haired doctor had figured that Kidd was delusional, but he hadn't realized just how strongly the red head believed that he was someone else. Obsessions like that made Law think that he hadn't seen the last of Kidd.

"Doctor Law?"

The dark haired surgeon shook away the unpleasant thought as he turned to face who had spoken to him. Law's eyes swept over the man in question, and after noting his attire, deduced that the other was an intern in his section of the hospital. If Law recalled correctly, the intern's name was Shachi. Law spotted a small stack of folders the other man held, as well as the other's uncertain expression. "Yes?" Law questioned, forgetting his own troubles for the moment.

"I was…wondering if you were free for a half hour. I need to enter these files and take care of some things down in the morgue, but there's no one down there and…" Shachi broke off with a nervous laugh, "If you're busy, that's fine, its just that the morgue in this hospital is a bit creepier than the one I've been to in another hospital…"

Law smiled a little. He knew what Shachi was talking about. Law remembered that he had also hated going down to the morgue on his own when he had interned here at this particular hospital, "Yes, I can. I just need to finish entering in something for a patient. I'll meet you at the elevator. I won' be long."

"Thanks, Doctor." The relief in Shachi's voice was evident as he walked off to the elevator to wait.

Law went into the file room to take care of the document he held, and after he had put it in a specific file, Law headed down the empty hall to the elevator. The dark haired man found Shachi waiting there nervously, shifting from foot to foot. "Let's go." Law commented as he came closer to where Shachi was standing.

-x

Law hadn't realized just how much information Shachi had had to enter, and put the thought in his mind that he would talk to someone the next day. It was obvious that another person was skimping on their work and pushing if off onto the intern. Law glanced at the clock as he stretched in front of the computer. He and Shachi were in a little office in the morgue, and the half hour of work that the intern had guessed he'd had had been passed by another hours' worth of time.

The dark haired doctor glanced out of the corner of his eyes, and noticed that Shachi was starting to look more and more nervous. Whether that was from being in the morgue, or by having been wrong about the time and dragging a doctor in to help him out, Law wasn't sure.

"Sorry Doctor Law. I hadn't realized there was so much information to enter." The intern avoided eye contact as he typed data into the computer before him.

Law shook his head a little, before the doctor turned back to the computer, "You can go home now, Shachi. There's not much left to take care of."

Shachi looked immensely relieved, "Thanks."

Law was highly amused with the speed with which Shachi had logged off the computer. And the way the intern edged out of the morgue while looking like he was keeping an eye out for dead bodies of patients that may rise and go after him. Law's lips quirked into a wry smile. Someone must have been watching too many horror movies involving zombies.

Fifteen minutes later, and Law was finally at the last of the notes to be entered into the database. The dark haired man yawned, and leaned back in the chair as he sighed. Law closed his eyes briefly, telling himself that he would be able to go home and get some sleep as soon as he finished up here. He could sleep in the next morning, as he wasn't scheduled to be back in until later in the afternoon. Law opened his eyes again as he resisted the urge to take a brief nap. He wasn't the only one who had a weird feeling of being all alone in a morgue.

Law was about to enter the last of the information into the computer, when he caught sight of something red reflecting off of the computer screen. Law's stomach dropped. Damn. Not again.

Despite the doctor's weariness, he reacted instantly as the red moved, and lunged out of the chair quickly enough to avoid being grabbed by Kidd. Keeping the chair between himself and Kidd, Law quickly searched for escape routes. There were two doors to the office, so Law took the nearest one, and narrowly avoided being grabbed by the arm by a now scowling Kidd.

Law darted out of the morgue through the door, trying to put as much distance between himself and Kidd, whom he could hear was following him. Law didn't dare look back as he dashed down the short hall. The dark haired doctor was under the impression that he was dreaming, and vividly, because of Kidd, who was steadily catching up with him from the closeness of the footsteps echoing behind him. Law didn't know if he could get to the elevator and in it before Kidd caught up with him, and since he had no desire to be trapped in an elevator with the red head, instead went for the stairwell.

Law was up one level when he heard Kidd barge into the stairwell, and start chasing him up the stairs. Law caught sight of Kidd grinning eerily at him, and abruptly turned and ran up the stairs to put some distance between himself and the red head. The dark haired man heard Kidd let out a laugh, and it almost seemed as if the red head was enjoying the chase. Law certainly wasn't, because he didn't want to think what Kidd had planned when he finally caught up with him. _If_ the red head caught up with him, as the doctor had just put on a burst of speed, and wrenched open a door. Law slammed it shut behind him, and looked around. There were three halls to choose from and Law didn't particularly care which one as long as it got him further away from Kidd.

Law didn't hear the red head follow along after him after the doctor had gone down a few turns through a couple of halls. Law skidded to a complete stop when he realized he had come to a dead end. The dark haired man cursed internally. He'd forgotten that the last hall he'd went down led to this dead end. Law quickly spun on his heel and headed back, trying to think about the area of the hospital he was in. He came to the spilt in the hallway and peered around anxiously. His shoulders relaxed minimally as he caught no sight of Kidd. Moving a little more quickly, Law hurried down the hall, when a door suddenly opened to his left and movement came from within the room.

Law wasn't fast enough to escape Kidd's grasp, but this time around he had a means to protect himself. Law used the hand not being held in a crushing grip to draw out a scalpel from his pocket. "Let go of me!" Law snarled as he turned and lurched forward to stab Kidd in the nearest shoulder. Law was fed up with the red head and his damn delusions. It needed to end sooner rather than later. The dark haired man knew that he was in another dream, so it didn't matter that he attacked the red head. He was dead anyway, so Law doubted that it would actually harm him. Law just hoped that if he fought back that the red head would rethink bothering him any further. Again, Kidd surprised him when the metal hand snapped up and seized the hand Law had just used to drive the scalpel into his shoulder.

Law glanced up at Kidd and instead of seeing the anger or pain that he would have expected a normal person to have shown after just being stabbed, Kidd was giving him a dark look. As if the red head were trying very hard to figure something out. As Kidd cast a silent look at the scalpel embedded in his right shoulder that had drawn blood, Law discreetly tried to free his hand to draw the scalpel out for another attack. And that was when Kidd startled him by letting out an almost carefree laugh, and his artificial left hand squeezed Law's wrist, preventing the doctor from pulling out the scalpel.

Kidd twisted Law's hand away from the scalpel with ease, and drew the hand up to nip along the fingers that no longer wore any gloves from earlier in the day.

As Law tensed at the light ministrations that Kidd was lying along his fingers, the doctor was wondering if he should have left his gloves on. Instead of taking them off to type things into the database. Law's fingers twitched within Kidd's grasp as the red head's tongue darted out along them with a sly chuckle, and murmured against the dark haired man's hand with a smirk.

"These tattoos are new. What doctor has death written on his hands? You tryin' to scare your patients, Trafalgar?" Kidd enjoyed Law subtly squirming from his touch, and wanted more. As he smirked at the dark haired man still trying to tug his hands away, Kidd used his grip on either of Law's wrists to maneuver the doctor up against the nearest wall. Kidd roughly pinned him there, next to the open door, and the red head briefly wondered why it hadn't occurred to Law that he had waited inside a room for him to pass by. Kidd kept tight hold of Law as he ignored the scalpel embedded in his shoulder for the time being in favor of his dark haired lover. Kidd's jaw was set against the small amount of pain he felt from the wound as he growled at Law, "I don't know what the hell's going through that mind of yours, Trafalgar, but if you wanna play, you should have just said so earlier."

Law inwardly swore as Kidd's intense amber gaze settled on him with a burning intensity. Instead of driving the red head off, he'd apparently only egged him on. And with the way that Kidd's eyes bored into his, Law didn't think he was going to be waking up any time soon.


	12. Ch 11: Delusional

A/N: Remember the warnings from the first chapter? Those are going to start to be more relevant, especially in this chapter (noncon/sexual assault/rape/blood/etc.) and will start to crop up more frequently from now on in future chapters.

And longer chapters will usually mean Kidd x Law stuff, as it's hard to break it up into individual chapters if it's the same scene. Plus I thought I was getting to this particular part 4-6 chapters ago. But again, I need a storyline to have reason for/justify this kind of thing happening.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Kidd could feel Law tense beneath his hands, and the red head decided that the first thing he needed to take care of was to prevent Law from fleeing. Without much of an effort, Kidd maneuvered Law away from the wall, and sent the dark haired doctor stumbling backward into the open room with a sudden shove. Kidd shut the door and locked it, not concerned about the other man finding an escape route. There wasn't a window anyway, and the only way to get out was through the door he had just closed. Kidd moved toward Law, and before the other could regain his balance, tackled him and with a swift motion, pinned the doctor face down to the ground.

"Hold the fuck still already. I'm getting tired of this Trafalgar." Kidd snapped irritably as he rested against Law's back lightly. The red head reached out and forced the dark haired doctor's arms over his head, and on to the floor in front of him. Using his left hand to keep Law's arms in place, Kidd drew out a roll of duct tape, "This shit is weird, but I tested it out earlier. I think it'll be strong enough to keep you in place if I use enough of it. I couldn't find any handcuffs or anything." Kidd ripped off some of the sticky gray tape, and bound Law's wrists together. He repeated the gesture a few more times, before he was satisfied that Law couldn't free his hands. Kidd slid his weight off of the other man, and was unsurprised to find Law skitter away from him. Both of them knew it was a useless gesture, but it didn't stop the doctor from trying anyway.

Kidd snorted at the pathetic sight, and rose to follow after Law, to a corner where the doctor had backed himself in to. Kidd stooped next to him, blocked the kick aimed his way with his left hand, before he used the same hand to fling Law unceremoniously over his shoulder. The metal appendage dug into Law's nearest thigh warningly when it felt like Law was going to try and kick him again. Kidd wandered back across the room, "I'm sick of you acting like you don't want me to touch you." Kidd flopped Law onto his back on a gurney that was folded down on the ground in the corner of the room, "I guess I'll just have to remind you how much you like it." Kidd slapped his left hand down on Law's bound wrists when the doctor tried to rise. Keeping the limbs pinned over Law's head, Kidd used the duct tape to bind them to the surface the dark haired man was now lying on.

Law immediately tried to force his arms back up, but Kidd's grip was firm, and the duct tape that was being laid down soon made it impossible to move even his forearms. Law felt Kidd's hands leave his arms, and tested the duct tape that the red head had used to secure his arms to the metal gurney. Law shifted uncomfortably when he realized he couldn't free himself. That meant that he couldn't do anything to stop the red head now, other than perhaps to try to dissuade him. But Law found himself taking issue with the fact that Kidd had decided to use the gurney as a makeshift bed. Even though that was something that should have been very far from his mind, and the doctor should have been vehemently protesting what was currently happening. Law tilted his head up to glare at Kidd, "You do realize that gurneys aren't meant to be used in this manner?"

Kidd grinned as he laughed at that, "I don't care if it breaks if that's what you mean." If it did, then the hospital would be short one gurney. No great loss, in the red head's opinion. He knew that his lover had strange kinks, and one of them was to be fucked in weird places, including different areas in the hospital. Though screwing in the morgue that one time had been a bit odd, even for Kidd. But Law had enjoyed it, and at this very moment, the red head didn't care whether or not the metal surface the doctor was lying on was comfortable.

Law was about to tell Kidd that if he thought that the gurney was potentially going break with whatever he had in mind, to get the hell away from him. Or to stay away from him in the first place. But Law only managed to open his mouth partway as Kidd clambered onto the gurney after him and drowned out his protests with a kiss.

Kidd made the kiss brief, before he pulled away and rested his head against the crook of Law's neck, and shifted slightly. The gurney creaked a little, but held, and that was good enough for Kidd to continue on. There wasn't very far to fall if they did happen to break it anyway. A couple of inches at the most. Kidd's tongue slipped out to lick Law's throat, before he laid a light kiss there, and felt the other's pulse against his lips. Kidd whispered breathlessly, "Have you been ignoring me because of your new boyfriend?"

Law grit his teeth as Kidd bit down on the nearest bit of skin on the side of his neck, and started to leave a mark there. Law's arms twitched against the duct tape as he managed a faint, displeased sound, "I don't have a boyfriend, you bastard. Get off of me!" It was bad enough that other people thought the same thing; he didn't need this ghost, whatever, implying it as well.

"Don't lie to me." Kidd snarled as he sat back on his knees, moving so that they were in between Law's. Kidd ignored whatever other protest the dark haired doctor may have made as he reached over and started to unbutton the white doctor's coat, and then the shirt. Kidd was a little disappointed that Law hadn't worn a sweater or something that he could have tugged off, or cut off. But buttons were fine. It worked out better this way. The red head took his time as he slowly began to reveal lightly tanned skin, and when he ran out of buttons, Kidd shoved the clothes aside to expose the skin even further.

Law shivered at the sudden exposure of his skin. The doctor's chest was rising and falling rapidly as his heart began to race at the thought that he had no way to protect himself now. That he couldn't prevent Kidd from doing whatever he wanted with him. And it was disturbing to Law, because he was oddly turned on by the thought, though he would have rather it not been Kidd. If Law had been in a relationship, he may have been open to light bondage, if he trusted the other person enough. Kidd, however...

Kidd ignored whatever discomfort the man below him may have been feeling as the red head let his eyes rove over the bare expanse of skin. Kidd's lips twitched into an amused smirk at the sight of the tattoos. Those he remembered, unlike the ones on the back of Law's hands. Kidd ran his hands along Law's sides absently, and drew forth a shudder with the action. Kidd peeked at Law's face, to see how the other man was reacting, but what the red head saw was not at all what he expected. He'd thought that Law was done pretending with him now that he had him trapped, but...

Law was staring back at him hesitantly, and almost appeared to be fearful of Kidd. Law looked like he wanted nothing more than to vanish, and to get the hell away from the red head. And if that wasn't possible, attack, and then get the hell away while he still could. He certainly seemed to want to do something to make Kidd back off.

For the first time since Kidd had seen Law return to his house, the red head's mind was momentarily awash with doubt. Kidd briefly wondered if the doctor had been telling the truth. That this Law, who looked so much like his lover, wasn't actually him. But that couldn't be. Kidd didn't think he could stand for this man in the room with him to not be who he thought he was. Kidd banished the doubt from his mind. No. This Law was his lover. They even had the same tattoos, and Law had just been a sick bastard and gotten those hand tattoos from when he'd been gone for so long. After all, there couldn't be more than one of the dark haired man.

Kidd looked down to study Law's face again, and found that he still didn't like the look that he was being given. Like he was some kind of monster for doing this to him. Kidd hated that expression. He had killed people in the past for giving him such a look, even if he kind of proved their point before they'd died. Kidd didn't give a fuck. Law was one of the first people he'd come across who didn't immediately run for their lives and screech things about demons and murderers. No, Law had stayed, and showed that he was just as much of a monster as Kidd, if not more so, than the red head himself.

Kidd wanted to punch or maybe even just slap Law for staring at him like that. The red head was far more used to a confident, laidback and sly as fuck Law who all but dared him to continue down the dangerous path that they had decided to live. Daring to push Kidd to his limits until the red head had almost gone over the deep end several times.

Right now, in this moment, Kidd decided that Law was still messing with his mind. So, he turned his gaze away from the other man's eyes, and turned a deaf ear to Law's protests, as he set about divesting the dark haired doctor of the rest of his clothes.

Kidd settled back on his knees again to let his eyes wander over his lover's bare body, and found that it was, as always, just the same as he remembered it being. Kidd leaned in close and spoke against Law's chest, "You're fucking sexy as hell, as usual." Kidd tipped forward further so that he could rest chest to chest with the other man, and drowned Law's response in a harsh and demanding kiss. Kidd forced his tongue into the doctor's mouth as he kept the kiss going, both hands roaming over Law's body. Kidd only released Law from the kiss when it was clear that the other man was struggling for breath.

While Law lay gasping for air, Kidd reached up and wrenched the scalpel out of his own right shoulder, and turned it over between two fingers. The slight pain he'd felt before was all but gone by now. Kidd lowered the scalpel, and without warning, drove it into Law's side, drawing blood and a sharp cry from the other man. Kidd rested his left hand on Law's sternum to prevent him from moving around too much as he dragged the scalpel hard enough to draw blood horizontally across his abdomen. Kidd repeated the motion across Law's waist, before the red head dropped the scalpel onto a nearby table. He could do more of that later if he wanted to. Kidd leaned down to lap at the wound across Law's abdomen, and drew forth an interesting combination of a gasp intermingled with a moan from Law.

Kidd turned his attention to the wound he'd made across Law's waist, and let his left hand rest more heavily against Law's sternum to keep him from bucking. Kidd dragged a few of his right hands' fingers along the wound he'd made in Law's left side, making the doctor writhe, and the red head didn't bother to check if it was from pain or pleasure. Kidd scraped his teeth lightly along the wound, chuckling when a thin whine issued from the action. Kidd let his right hand dip lower along Law's bare body, until his hand closed around his lover's now awake member. Kidd grinned a little as he moved his lips away from the wounds he'd created, and up to give Law another kiss, this one tasting of the metallic tang of blood. Kidd squeezed his hand, and felt Law gasp against his lips, and took the opportunity to deepen the kiss as he explored the inside of the doctor's mouth with his tongue. Kidd didn't think he could ever get over the taste of his lover.

Kidd pulled away and smirked at Law's dazed expression, and slid back down, his right hand still firmly wrapped around Law's dick. Kidd's grin bordered on crazed as he spoke, his voice rough, "I love how damn hard you get when I cut you up this this." Kidd lowered his head further, he himself turned on by the sight of a bloodied Law gasping and panting and squirming and acting like he didn't want it.

Law choked back a moan and couldn't quite get out a protest when Kidd's tongue licked him. Law dropped his head back and clenched his bound wrists as he felt Kidd begin to take him into his mouth bit by bit, as he had done back in the warehouse. Only Law wasn't waking up now, and the dark haired man was acutely aware of the warmth of the other's mouth sucking at him. Law bit his lip, determined not to make a sound. He didn't want Kidd to think that he was enjoying this, because it would only keep adding to the red head's belief that he was someone he wasn't. Law's fingernails dug into the palms of his hands, striving to keep himself silent as Kidd worked on his more than neglected member. Law couldn't even remember the last time anyone had given him a blowjob, but he was fairly certain he'd never been tied up like this and forced to take it.

There was no way to escape this torture, and Kidd wasn't backing down, and seemed intent on getting Law to respond. And it only took a few more moments before he got to that point, and Kidd was pleased with the response. After all, Kidd didn't normally suck off of Law. The dark haired doctor seemed to enjoy doing that to him more often, and a lot more roughly than what Kidd was currently doing.

Law finally gave in, unable to hold back anymore as Kidd, who had pulled back all of a sudden, nearly took him in again with a swift motion. Law let out a faint moan, and that seemed to be what Kidd had wanted to hear, as the red head hummed something in response. The vibration caused Law to bite back a choked groan, and that was when his body finally betrayed him even further by bucking his hips. Trying to get off on the feeling alone, and what Kidd was doing with his tongue. At the same time, Law was feeling incredibly ashamed that he had allowed the red head to get to him like this. It was quite humiliating. Just as Law thought he was about to reach his limit, Kidd chuckled again. Law let out a thin sound of protest at the red head's mouth retreated, and hated himself for even thinking that he had wanted Kidd to finish what he had been doing.

Kidd leaned up over Law's chest and kissed the side of his jaw as he murmured, "At least your body is honest with me." Kidd licked his way down Law's throat, before he paused and added, "Why can't your words be too?"

Law felt Kidd's hands hold his hips down and squeeze lightly.

"Want to keep going? I bet I can get you to come twice. Once with my hand, and once when I fuck you."

That got Law out of his daze as he locked eyes with Kidd and snarled, "Don't even...think about it." Law glared at Kidd, even when the red head looked back at him with challenge in his eyes. Law then felt Kidd shift and start to remove his own clothing, and that was when the dark haired doctor was finally fed up with Kidd, and growled irritably, "Stop this already...I've told you countless times...I'm not..." Kidd's lips cut him off, and Law winced when the red head bit him this time, lightly. Law made a muffled protest against those lips as he squeezed his eyes shut. Kidd's hand had found his cock again and started playing with it as he had back in the master bedroom of the house.

"I guess that's a yes." Kidd murmured against Law's lips, "Stop being so damn stubborn. You can stop pretending anytime now. It's lost its entertainment value awhile ago."

Law kept his eyes shut as he struggled to keep his traitorous body from responding to the red head's touch. But it was useless as he finally came to the rough and precise movements of Kidd's hand. Law rested his head back against the gurney, trying to regain his breath once more as Kidd drew back again.

"Trafalgar?"

The red head's voice was deeper and much more demanding now, and Law couldn't think as the red head shoved his legs up and out of the way. The dark haired doctor started to panic as he realized that Kidd was following through with the suggestion that he had made just moments before. Fingers trailed along the curve of his back, and then dipped lower to circle him.

Law turned his head away, biting his lip as the red head began to prepare him with some lube that he'd apparently stashed in the coat he'd been wearing. Or was using something else. Law didn't particularly care at this point as he tried to block his mind from what was happening.

Law wanted, _needed_, to wake up.

Law felt an uncomfortable sensation, and his eyes squeezed shut more tightly, his breath coming out in uneven gasps.

The dark haired doctor wanted this all to be a terrible, terrible nightmare.

Kidd's voice cut through him again with another demand, but while Law couldn't hear him, he could damn well feel him. Feel him buried deep inside and clearly with no intention of leaving until he was finished.

Law was in such absolute and utter mental torture that the red head's demands seemed to come from further and further away. And with it, the sensations that were cutting through his body like a burning knife.

Law hated that he couldn't get Kidd to back off. Law hated the helpless feeling of things being out of his control. Of being forced to do something. That no protest seemed good enough to make Kidd leave him alone. That it didn't seem to matter whether Law was awake or asleep, because Kidd always seemed to be there. And no matter how much Law wanted to fight back and rid himself of the damn red head, the dark haired man was finding it to be a difficult task to accomplish.

Law couldn't escape.

-x

Law fell out of the chair in the small office in the morgue. The doctor hit the ground and that startled Law enough to realize that he was no longer bound or having Kidd force himself on him. Breathing hard, Law whipped his head to and fro wildly, but Kidd was nowhere to be seen. The dark haired doctor looked himself over, and found that he was still bleeding from the various wounds that Kidd had given him with the scalpel. Law shifted uncomfortably on the ground as he also noticed that he was still sporting an erection.

Things were getting out of hand, especially if the dreams he was having with Kidd in them could be so realistic that the doctor was still turned on when he finally broke free of them.

Law rose from the ground, wincing a little. Before he could decide what to about this most recent violation in his dreams, he needed to go find a bathroom to take care of himself. He didn't want to do that in the morgue, because that was just wrong in his mind. Law pressed an arm up against the cut to his abdomen as he made his way to the nearest bathroom. He would also need to clean these wounds before he left. Law kept a wary eye out for Kidd, because it would just figure if the red headed ghost decided to watch him or something.

Law cautiously entered the bathroom, and held still as he listened for any movement. Nothing. Law relaxed a little as he went into the nearest stall, and feeling that it wouldn't take that much more to relieve himself, didn't bother to shut the stall behind him. Law wiggled his hips a little as he maneuvered his pants and boxers down a bit to give himself an easier time to do the deed, and then get the hell out, as if he expected Kidd to suddenly intrude on him.

Just as the doctor's hand closed over his member, a warm body collided with his back, and two arms wrapped around his waist comfortably. Law froze in place as he noted with a jolt of panic that one of the arms most certainly wasn't flesh. And the person behind him was more than happy to be pressed up against him. Law shivered a little as a head rested on his shoulder, and light breath puffed against his ear as Kidd spoke to him in a curiously amused tone of voice.

"Can I watch you jack off, Trafalgar?"

Law, instead of being startled or panicking further, became annoyed. Hadn't he woken up? Why the hell was Kidd there in the bathroom with him? The bathroom...Law realized that he was currently in a bathroom stall with Kidd, and more than likely trapped in it with the other, who was clearly still in the mood. The red head's right hand trailed down to rest over the doctor's, and Kidd pressed up against the dark haired man more closely. Law lost whatever calm he may have built up when he knew there was no escape this time either.

"Let go of me! Leave me alone!" Law struggled in Kidd's grasp, but was unable to free himself.

Kidd merely tightened his grip on Law, and held on as if his life depended on it. Kidd's voice had taken on a note of pleading, even though the red head desperately tried to make it sound otherwise. As if he didn't want that kind of emotion to surface. "Don't leave me."

Law was feeling colder and colder the longer Kidd held him, even though the red head was still warm, until finally, just like that...

...he woke up.

Law found himself in the office once more, and with a swift movement, jerked his shirt up to look at his waist for the injuries. Law shakily traced a finger along the barely there scar. Law wasn't exactly sure what it meant, but knew at the very least he was fully awake this time. The dark haired doctor let his shirt drop back down as he calmly rose, and left the morgue.

As Law headed for the exit of the hospital, he felt that something had to be done to get all of this to stop happening to him. As Law stepped into another brisk and windy night, he was, for once, at a loss of what exactly to do.

What could one do to deal with a ghost that didn't seem to have any intention of leaving you alone?

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

A/N- Jeez this took forever to edit/proofread.

Btw Kidd thinks things are consensual, since he still believes that Law is messing around with him and trying to irritate him. And the whole duct tape thing was mainly because I liked the idea of Kidd not knowing what it was, then discovering how strong it was, and being a sadistic bastard and thinking he can have some fun with it.

And the scalpel doing some damage to Kidd in the dream is something more of a residual he 'remembers' the feeling. Like a psychic wound, if that makes any sense at all. Like Law having faint scars from where Kidd wounds him while he is either awake or asleep. And the whole dream thing was because I was thinking about Fatal Fame 3 where the characters sleep and then wander around that mansion and have all the sensations and interactions and stuff like they were actually awake when they weren't.

Also, Kidd is going to do something stupid in a chapter or two that will eventually lead him to face the fact that he is dead. Not that he's going to let that stop him anyway.

There _is_ going to be more about the Law Kidd did know in he past, in future chapters, as well as some explanations for the whole coins/ring thing. Plus the other ghost in the house is going to bother Ace in the next chapter-he just won't realize it was a ghost until later on.


	13. Ch 12: A Warning

As he left the hospital, Law's thoughts were entirely focused on what he should do about Kidd. How could he manage to get the red headed ghost to leave him alone for good? Law walked along the sidewalk automatically, lost in thought until he realized that he hadn't been paying attention to his surroundings. Law stopped, and blinked in faint surprise at where he was. The doctor had thought that he'd been on the shortest path home, but instead it appeared as though he had been drawn to a shop down the street, a few blocks from the house. It looked familiar, meaning that he'd gone by the place before.

Law stared at the sign hanging over the shop. It appeared to be a magic shop that offered tarot readings and other kinds of hocus pocus that some people seemed to be interested in. Law was about to walk away, when he paused midstep, and looked back at the semi lit shop that was still open even at this late hour. For some odd reason, the doctor felt that he was supposed to go in, since he had inadvertently ended up outside of it. Law dwelt on his troubles with Kidd for only a few seconds before he made up his mind. Law moved forward and wrapped a hand around the doorknob. The dark haired doctor decided that he would do just about anything to try and rid himself of Kidd.

Law entered the shop and closed the door, but not before the bells jingled, announcing that he had entered. Law took a few steps forward, glancing over a few of the small shelves with a wide range of magical paraphernalia. Law didn't, however, see the owner of the shop anywhere...

"Welcome."

Law started at the voice and whirled around, and had to prevent himself from gasping that someone stood behind him not two feet away. And Law hadn't heard them approach at all. The doctor stared at the other man, and the gaze was returned as he himself was studied intently. Law presumed that the man was the owner of the shop. He had long hair that fell down past his shoulders, and had markings over his brow, and on his chest from where the shirt was partially open.

Law wasn't quite sure what to say, but the man beat him to it as he brushed past him silently, as if it were not at all abnormal to suddenly appear behind someone else and startle them. The man took a seat in a corner of the small room, a table beside him. The long haired male indicated the chair across from the table, opposite of him, "Be seated." Picking up on Law's hesitation, the man started to shuffle a deck, before he drew a few cards out. He looked them over silently, before speaking in a level tone, "You have troubles that you wish to know if you can have resolved. You're not sure whether a normal course of action would be adequate, so you chose to come here, seeking answers." The man lifted his gaze to meet the doctor's, "Is that correct?"

Law hesitated for a moment, before he walked forward slowly and lowered himself into the seat across from the long haired owner of the shop.

The man made a little nod with his head, before he shuffled the deck again and laid it aside. He looked across the table at Law, "My name is Basil Hawkins. I am the owner of this shop. As you are seeking answers, we will start with a tarot reading. I find them to be more accurate for myself to read." Hawkins studied Law silently, before adding, "I take it whatever is wrong has gotten bad enough that you are unable to resolve it by yourself?"

Seeing Law nod, Hawkins passed the deck over to him, "If you will shuffle it, I will begin."

The dark haired doctor took the deck and shuffled it, half thinking that the man before him was a little odd. Law finished shuffling and handed it back over to Hawkins, and watched as he drew several cards from the top, and laid them out before him on the table. Hawkins flipped the first one over, "The Eight of Swords. You are frustrated by your predicament, and your patience for it is at an end. You need a way out, but you are unable to see one for yourself. Hence you seeking answers from others." Hawkins flipped the second card, and studied for a moment, "The Knight of Wands. I sense that there is an overwhelming male presence that is responsible for your current troubles. The Nine of Coins. You wish to be acknowledged as a surgeon of renown in the eyes of others, and for your past to be put behind you. And that is why you wish for your current problem to leave you, so that this will be possible."

Law was silent as Hawkins flipped the fourth card. He was holding his breath for now, feeling unnerved by the other man's accuracy thus far.

"Death, reversed. There is something from the past that has not been able to move on. It cannot move on, or refuses to do so. Clinging onto something from its past in the present. The World, reversed. You have been carrying your fears of this presence, and keeping them to yourself, in an attempt to deal with it on your own. The Lovers, reversed. There is an obsessive relationship that someone is trying to force on you through delusions of their own making." Hawkins turned over the last four cards, and read them off aloud to Law, until he came to the tenth and final card. Hawkins tapped it lightly with one finger, "The Star, reversed. You have been lured into a sense of false security." Hawkins eyes remained on the card as he continued, "You hold to the belief that that which is in your life cannot reach you in the world of the living. That whatever interactions there may be, that it is only temporary here. However..." Hawkins looked away from the card, "I see a darkness. A shadow. It is clinging to you, and if you do not rid yourself of it, nothing good will come of it. You have been tricked into thinking that it will get better, when the opposite is true."

Law again was again struck by how much Hawkins had been able to guess when reading off pictures from a bunch of hand drawn cards. What he'd said as he turned each of them over. Those words couldn't be denied, the accuracy of those words, merely because Law was fairly certain he'd never met the man before. The dark haired doctor reluctantly looked across the table when the shop owner spoke again, and saw that he had shuffled the deck and drew a few cards of his own.

"You will be able to get aid to deal with what is hovering over you and disrupting your life. Some of that aid will be found for you." Hawkins' gaze went from the card currently in his hand to Law, his voice more serious than before, "However, be aware that if you do not receive this aid, that the path you are currently on will only lead to death in the end."

Law felt a little chilled with how the other man had sounded when saying that, but managed to retain his calm as he rose. Law walked a few steps, before he spoke, "And how will I know if things change?"

"I cannot say. Some of the cards were not as clear as the others."

Hawkins followed Law to the door, and watched the doctor leave, and called after him, "If you need answers for whom to contact, return here." Seeing Law's head nod slightly in acknowledgment, Hawkins closed the door. However, the long haired man sensed something that made him uneasy, and he turned back to look out of his shop. Hawkins held perfectly still as he suddenly saw the image of a red haired man standing a few steps away from the door. When the amber eyes met his, Hawkins could tell that he was all but being warned to stay away from Law. Almost as soon as he had seen the vision, the red head turned and followed after Law, and vanished into thin air the further away the doctor got from the shop.

Hawkins let out a low sigh, before he went back to the table and ran through a few hands of his cards. Each time he did a reading, his expression grew more and more serious. No matter what he did, all he could find in Law's future was death. But only as long as the red haired man was in the picture. Hawkins didn't know if Law would be able to rid himself of the presence because of how strongly it was hanging onto him. Hawkins had even sensed it in the shop. The obsession. The violent, protective air. The insanity. The delusion.

Law really didn't have all that much time, if he didn't seek out the help that he needed to rid himself of the red head.

-x

The footsteps had been getting louder and louder over the past few weeks. It seemed to come and go in intensity, and Ace just figured that it meant that the person doing the movement was in different states of mind. Meaning Law.

Tonight, however, Ace was finally tired enough of Law's weird midnight wanderings that he decided that he needed to confront him about it.

The footsteps were loud, and woke Ace as easily as the other times. He was a little exasperated that Luffy was able to snooze right through them. Though at least that meant that Ace knew it wasn't his younger brother wandering around and eating a midnight snack. Sometimes even eating while fast asleep.

Ace did check his brother's bed, just to make sure. When he saw, and heard, Luffy shifting and snoring in bed, he knew that tonight wasn't his brother. Ace glanced over at his clock, before letting out a sigh of annoyance. This was the eighth time in the past three weeks that he'd been woken up in the middle of the night. This had to stop.

Ace slid out of bed and wandered over to the door with a yawn. The older teen shouldered open the door and stopped at the top of the stairs after he'd exited the bedroom, and caught sight of someone heading into the living room. Ace went down the stairs, his movements still a little uncoordinated, as he was still waking up. This night time wandering either had to stop or be done more quietly. Ace frowned a little, stopping short just inside the living room. There was no one there.

Ace caught sight of a shadow across the wall that led into the dining room area of the kitchen. Ace ran a hand through his messy hair as he said in a sleep laced, irritable growl, "Would you stop wandering around so loudly? You keep waking me up." Ace saw the shadow vanish further into the other room, and Ace followed, stopping short again when he saw that Law wasn't in the kitchen.

A door closed, and Ace turned in response to the noise. It sounded like it had come from the smaller door that lead to the cellar. Ace, fully awake by now, headed out of the kitchen and over to the door. He studied it for a moment before he opened it and raised a hand to flick on the light.

It didn't turn on.

Ace ignored the lack of a light as he carefully headed down the stairs, until he came to the landing. Ace leaned against the brick wall that was next to him, and allowed his eyes to adjust to the gloom. As soon as he could make out the outlines in the room, the furnace and the water heater and the shelves for storage, Ace was able to catch sight of someone lurking just behind the boiler.

From the outline of the figure, Ace was able to identify it as Law. Not that Ace thought it would have been anyone else. He would have definitely noticed if someone had broken into the house. Ace let out a sigh as he shook his head and half turned back to the stairs, "I don't care if you wander around the house, Law, but could you at least keep it down?" Receiving no response, Ace began to head back up the stairs, though he did pause mid step when a hand suddenly wrapped around one of his wrists in a firm grip.

Ace held still for only a moment, before he shook his hand free of the cold hand that had seized his wrist. Ace continued up the stairs, "You're going to catch a cold if you keep hanging out down here. You're a doctor, aren't you? Take better care of yourself." Ace ignored soft laughter that followed him up, though he was a little irked that the laughter had been directed at him. Ace left the small door open, assuming that Law would want to come up to go to bed eventually. He did have to work the next day, and being sleep deprived wasn't the best thing for a surgeon.

Ace started up the staircase to the second floor, and that was when he heard footsteps again. Ace paused halfway up, and glanced over his shoulder. He saw a figure standing just inside the entrance to the basement, on the first step so that the figure could stare up at Ace. The freckled teen could tell, as far as he could see in the shadows, that it was Law that was standing there. Ace shook his head again, "Don't be such a creep, man." The doctor was acting weird tonight. Ace walked the short distance to his and Luffy's bedroom, and shut himself in.

Twenty minutes later Ace was fast asleep once more. He didn't stir this time when the door suddenly opened on its own, and stopped about halfway.

The figure of Law stood quietly there in the darkness of the hall, before he slowly turned, and walked out of view.

Footsteps started up again within the house, though it was quieter. It was almost as if the person making them was humoring Ace in an almost mocking manner with how precise the footsteps sounded with each step. The sound stopped a half hour later when the front door opened.

-x

Law entered the house, visibly exhausted as he absently closed the door behind him. He was far too weary and unnerved by what had happened at the hospital and Hawkins' shop to notice that the small door to the cellar closed without a sound.

Kidd didn't notice that the door had closed either, since he was sticking close to Law and trying to figure out what was wrong. The red head was deep in thought as he puzzled over why his dark hared lover seemed to be so opposed to being with him, especially when it came to sex. Kidd had thought that he'd gotten through to Law in the hospital, but he hadn't seemed to have enjoyed it as much as Kidd thought he would have.

The red head followed Law into the master bedroom and watched as the doctor collapsed onto his bed. Kidd smiled in bemusement as Law bundled himself in many sheets and blankets, before he curled in on himself. It was very bizarre to see Law acting in this manner, and not being his usual smirking, confident self. Kidd waited until the doctor was breathing softly in sleep, before Kidd himself sat down on the edge of the bed. The red head reached out and tugged the blankets and sheets out of the way, and slipped Law's shirt up to study where he'd injured Law with the scalpel. The sight that greeted Kidd's eyes made him frown.

There were no open wounds.

Kidd blinked in confusion as he ran a finger lightly along Law's skin. The red head knew for sure that he'd left wounds all over his lover's body. Well, in three places, and it hadn't been life threatening wounds, but still, there should have been something...

Kidd brushed his finger along the skin again, before he leaned in close to inspect it. It was then that he saw thin, very faint scars where the injuries had been made, instead of fresh ones congealing. It was as if the cuts had healed in the hour and a half since they'd left the hospital. Kidd settled back, and wondered what that meant, that the fresh wounds were now scars. However, Kidd was currently more concerned by the fact that Law really _didn't_ seem to know who he was. Kidd looked down at Law as he reached out his right hand toward him, before he stopped and drew it away. Kidd knew that he had to have imagined the light pressure of a hand squeezing his shoulder, since he was still focused on the fact that the sleeping Law wasn't remembering him. Kidd let his hands drop to his lap, before he looked down at them and clenched them.

That Law didn't recognize him hurt Kidd more than he thought it would. The red head still had no idea what to do about Law's refusal to acknowledge him. Other than to continue to try and get through to his dark haired lover. Kidd couldn't stop now. He wouldn't stop.

Not until he got what he wanted.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

A/N: I had fun with the tarot stuff. I have a deck lying around and was looking through the meanings of the cards in the booklet.

About 1-2 more chapters before there's possession sex. Yeah. And that's not even the really crazy part of the fic either. I'm still feeling a bit hesitant about the latter half of this fic, since that is when the warnings really kick in. The chapters beforehand are because of plot reasons. And after the possession chapter, it will just continue to get weirder and more messed up. There won't be any more dream encounters when Kidd realizes that he is dead, FYI. Hence the reason possession starts to happen.


	14. Ch 13: Ghost

Ace woke the next morning early, when it was still dark outside. There didn't seem to be any reason for waking up so suddenly, but the older teen heard a rustle of paper. Ace sat up and caught a piece of paper that fluttered down to his lap. He turned it over and saw that it was the note that had been found with the ring. From one of the pouches that Luffy had found in the cellar.

Ace wasn't sure what to make of it. He had thought that he'd put it in the desk drawer, out of sight. Movement caught the teen's eyes, and he glanced across the room, to where the bedroom door was open partway. He could have sworn that there was someone standing out in the hall, but there was no one there. Ace frowned at the open door. He thought that he had shut it.

Ace rose out of bed, and, taking the note with him, went into the hall, and over to Law's bedroom. He peered inside, and found that the surgeon had already left for the day. Ace shook his head and wandered back to his bedroom, thinking he had some time to sleep before booting Luffy out of bed for school.

-x

The day went by with nothing unusual happening like the night before. Ace just couldn't find a good explanation for why he had thought that he had seen someone standing in the hallway. Especially since this wasn't the first time, and Law was either usually asleep, or gone from the house when it occurred. Ace was getting a little tired of the whole thing, but he kept it to himself. Luffy hadn't mentioned anything to him, and Ace was sure that he would have if he started to think that there were ghosts in the house or something.

Ace scoffed at the very idea. Unless he actually saw one, there was no such thing as a ghost.

At least, that was Ace thought, anyway, until later that evening when he and Luffy were all alone in the house. Or so they believed.

-x

Luffy had returned from school, and after unwillingly doing his homework, had gone up to the bedroom. It was getting darker out, and Luffy wanted to take a look at the golden coins he had found weeks before.

Luffy spread out the coins on his bed, and was studying them closely, as if the coins themselves would tell the teen where they'd come from. Luffy still held on to the belief that they were some pirate's treasure that they had, for whatever reason, hidden in this house. Luffy reached out to pick up a golden coin, when he stopped. He felt like he was being watched.

Luffy looked around the whole room, but when he didn't see anyone, he moved off the bed and went to look out the open bedroom door. No one was there, and it sounded like Ace was still in the living room.

Luffy shrugged to himself as he turned back to go to his bed. That was weird. Why had he thought he was being watched? Luffy came to an abrupt halt when he caught sight of a taller, red haired male standing in the room, and what drew Luffy's attention was that the man looked faded, almost see through. Luffy thought the red haired male was dressed like a pirate, but maybe that was just him wanting it to be a ghost pirate looking for treasure. The younger teen wasn't at all afraid. He was excited. He had told his brother that ghosts were real. Any sleepiness Luffy may have felt vanished as he grinned. He wasn't even bothered by the fact that the red head was glowering at him, and instead asked excitedly, "Are you a ghost?"

Luffy didn't appear to realize that the red head did not like the question at all.

-x

Kidd stared at the grinning teen, and wondered if he was messing around with him. Kidd had been under the impression that this brat, as well as the older one, had been ignoring him all this time, like Law. Kidd could almost hear his his lover's voice whispering to him. About silencing the brat for daring to utter such things. Kidd allowed himself a faint, genuine smile. He remembered quite clearly that Law would talk to him about him killing people. The red head had been amused that the doctor had admitted, eventually, that he really got off on watching Kidd kill someone.

_Kidd is not aware that Law is witnessing him kill a man. That he watches from a distance sometimes. As soon as Kidd realizes he's being watched, he's uncertain. The red head believes it is foolish of him to worry what Law will think of him murdering someone in cold blood._

_Kidd watches Law approach him, and he is struck by the urge to run. To pretend this didn't happen, and meet the other man at his house. __Kidd is able to walk away, but stops when a hand closes over one wrist._

_"What's wrong?"_

_Kidd laughs, and turns back to the doctor as he uses his free hand to indicate the dead man on the ground._

_Law glances down briefly, before he merely shakes his head, "So? Did he do something to deserve it?"_

_Kidd shrugs, "He asked too many questions."_

_"Well, that's more of an excuse than my getting organs from patients that are dead or dying."_

_Kidd grins as he pulls Law close and sneaks an arm around his waist, "So you don't care?" Kidd laughs again at the look he is given, and the smile turns dark when he notices something else. It seems his lover was more than fine with him killing a man if he got turned on like that._

Kidd sighed to himself as he banished the memories for now, and tuned back into the present. The younger teen before him was still looking at him expectantly. Kidd figured that he must still be dwelling a little on the past, because he could still hear the phantom voice of his lover urging him to do something about the brat. The red head was more than happy to comply. It seemed like a good idea anyway. Kidd didn't like the little brat anyway, especially when he'd just asked to his face if he was a ghost.

Kidd _wasn't_ a ghost, and he'd prove it. The red head smirked when Luffy's expression became puzzled, as if he noticed that something wasn't quite right. Kidd closed in on him, the doctor's voice still seeming to speak to him from somewhere nearby, even though Law had gone to work earlier.

Kidd bared his teeth in a savage grin. He would teach this teen to not ask such stupid questions.

-x

Ace thought that Luffy was being a bit too quiet, which meant that he might be getting up to something. Like opening up more holes in the walls in search of buried treasure. Ace stretched as he exited the living room to go check on his younger brother, and as he left, he was in time to see Luffy back out of the bedroom. Ace started to move as soon as he saw Luffy's back come into contact with the railing, and there was no other explanation as Luffy went hurtling over backward to the first floor. Someone had just shoved his brother, even though there didn't appear to be anyone there. Ace reached up and managed to catch Luffy before he could hurt himself, and the momentum took both brothers to the ground.

"Someone shoved me..." Luffy began to say, when he saw Ace looking at him questioningly. Luffy didn't get to say who had done the pushing, as Ace was already racing up the stairs. He didn't spot anyone in the immediate area. Law wasn't back from the hospital yet...not that the doctor would have actually done something like that to Luffy.

Ace felt a cold chill sweep over him, followed instantly by the sudden sensation of being shoved backward roughly. Ace stumbled back several feet but managed to retain his balance. The older teen realized that there was no one actually there to have done the pushing. Which meant...

A mocking laugh seemed to come from out of nowhere, and the cold, as quickly as it had come, retreated.

Ace calmly walked back down the stairs, and over to where Luffy was now standing, to make sure that his brother was all right. Ace tuned out Luffy saying that he had told him that ghosts were real as he looked back up at the second floor of the house. There really was something wrong with this house, like he had thought when he had first laid eyes on it. And he was going to find out just what that was.

Ace wasn't going to let someone who tired to harm his brother think they could get away with it while he was around.

-x

Another long day of work, and Law was more than ready to call it a night and drop down onto his bed and sleep. Law stopped just inside the entryway to the house. The doctor noticed that Ace was still awake, and was leaning against a nearby wall, and looking displeased about something. Law closed the front door and locked it, before he sighed. He already had enough things to deal with, and a surly teen wasn't one he particularly wanted to add to the list. "Yes?" Law asked as he dumped his coat onto a nearby chair.

"Someone shoved my brother over the railing." Ace responded, crossing his arms and eying the doctor.

"He didn't fall on his own?" Law had a bad feeling about this. Perhaps he'd been wrong about Kidd only being interested in bothering him.

"Not with the way he fell." Ace could tell that Law was avoiding something, but didn't really care at this point to find out what. He had something else that he wanted, "Do you have the phone number for the homeowner? I have some questions I want to ask them."

Law dipped a hand into his pocket and took out his wallet. He searched inside it for a moment, before drawing out a scrap of paper with a phone number scrawled on it.

Ace pushed away from the wall and took the offered scrap of paper, before he headed up to his bedroom.

Law watched him go, before he sighed and decided that if Ace hadn't wanted to do it, he'd been ready to call Crocodile himself. Law wanted to know if the violet haired man had ever experienced anything paranormal in the house. The dark haired man just hadn't been up to calling with all that had been going on.

Law headed for the master bedroom. His nerves were already shot, and in a way, it amused him to think what Crocodile would think of a random teenager calling him and demanding answers.


	15. Ch 14: Facts

Crocodile had decided to spend his morning pouring over reports and suggestions of trade items, and was, quite frankly, getting irritated by his subordinates. Who the hell needed so much paint and candle wax anyway? There weren't high enough finances to justify getting a whole roomful of those items. The violet haired man dropped the stack of suggestions onto a nearby desk and jammed a cigar between his teeth and lit it. Crocodile moodily sat down on a chair, scowling a little at the newspaper for the day. A murder in the area. _Someone_ wasn't being careful enough to avoid the attentions of the cops, and Crocodile had even lent assistance to create a diversion.

Crocodile read the article, before he tossed the newspaper back onto the table and tapped his hook against his knee in thought. He presumed the cover up had been done by Doflamingo, since the authorities weren't quite sure what had happened. The violet haired man wasn't surprised. That pink wearing flashy bastard wasn't about to let the cops corner him. The phone started to ring, and Crocodile reached over to answer it. Finally, something to take his mind off stupid subordinates and crappy cover up stories. Crocodile puffed away at the cigar as he spoke, unable to keep out a low growl of irritation, "Yeah, what is it?" Whatever Crocodile had expected, it wasn't to be harangued by what sounded like a teenager.

_"Are you the owner of the house that is renting to Law?"_

Crocodile couldn't place the voice, other than yes, it sounded like a demanding teenager, "Who is this?" If the teenager was asking about the house he thought, the one that Law was renting, then he assumed that either the doctor had given the teen his phone number, or the brat had taken it from him without him knowing it.

_ "I want to know more about the house."_

"And I asked who the hell you are. Where did you get this number?" Crocodile was very displeased that someone he didn't know was calling him. At least it didn't sound like it was an undercover cop. The damn teen was far more interested in harassing him about the house.

_"It doesn't matter who I am. What does matter is that my brother was almost hurt by something in the house. I don't care whether it was a ghost or an actual person that tried to do that. I'm not going to let my brother get hurt, so where can I find information on the house?"_

Crocodile was silent as he considered the words that had just been spoken. While the violet haired man wasn't pleased to have someone call him with a number that shouldn't have been obtained so easily, he understood what the teen on the line was talking about. Crocodile never liked the house to begin with, so he just rented it out and otherwise stayed away from it. It was odd for him to do such things, but for that house, the violet haired man made an exception. Crocodile wasn't prone to being afraid of anything or anyone, but there was just something unpleasant about the house that he did not like one bit. Like he was being constantly watched when he was in the place.

After weighing his options, Crocodile spoke, deciding that it was better to get the teen out of his hair, "You can find information about the house with Daz Bones. He works for me. He mainly handles paperwork, in addition to his other job."

_"What's his other job?"_

Crocodile laughed at the fact that the teen sounded almost bored, as if he didn't actually expect an answer, "He would kill you if you asked him and he told you." Crocodile dug around in the small cabinet next to the table, and pulled out a piece of paper with an address on it. Crocodile read the address over the phone to the teenager. The violet haired man put the paper away, and his voice grew dangerous as he warned the caller on the other end of the line, "Don't call me ever again. I am, however, going to find out how you got a hold of my number."

_"I'm not planning to, but I might show up at your house sometime. If my brother comes to harm. Since it does seem that you knew something wasn't right with the house, and you rented it to Law without even mentioning it."_

The phone hung up before Crocodile could respond to that. He scowled at the phone, before dropping it back onto the receiver. He only had to sit there for a few moments, smoking his cigar, before he decided to use the phone. He was going to take care of random brats finding his phone number right now. Crocodile absently dialed a number, before he leaned backward in the chair and waited for his call to be answered. It didn't take long, and the man on the other end of the line sounded cheerfully amused. Crocodile ground his teeth against the cigar.

_"Since when do_ you_ call _me_?_ _Are you not feeling well? Or is this about the shoddy cover up I had to do because I wasn't called about needing to provide one sooner?"_

Crocodile exhaled irritably. It was too damn early to deal with Doflamingo, but the violet haired man wanted to take care of a more pressing issue. His damn phone number somehow being easily found by brats demanding answers. "Shut up, you damn flamingo. While I do want to know why the cover up wasn't done sooner, I wanted to know how the hell a damn teenager was able to get my phone number."

_"Fufufufu. The teenagers that are living with Law? One of them could have gone through his belongings to find it. I don't think the doctor would just hand it over. He knows better than that. I'm sure Law knows that most of us want to remain anonymous, himself included."_

Crocodile leaned more heavily against the chair, "And? What are you going to do about it? The little bastard wasn't calling from a secure line. It was probably a cell phone. What if the cops intercept the call and trace it?"

Doflamingo could be heard laughing. _"What do you want me to do about it?"_

"Get the damn number from your little doctor. He's more likely to hand it over to you than me, right?" Crocodile hated that Doflamingo found this conversation to be highly entertaining. Like he wasn't concerned at all about the cops tracing anyone.

_"Ah, are you jealous that he will work for me and not for you? That's cute. Are you sure that getting the phone number is all you want from me?"_

Definitely too damn early to deal with the pink wearing son of a bitch and his weirdness. Crocodile sighed, not in the mood for Doflamingo to toy with him, "Just get the number, would you? I can make sure that the cover up you did the other night won't lead the cops in the right direction."

_"Fine. fine. When do you want me to go get the number?"_

"Today." Crocodile hung up after he heard Doflamingo burst into laughter at his paranoia of his number being found by the wrong person.

-x

Daz Bones wasn't nearly as intimidating as Ace had expected him to be. He was far more quiet than anything. At least that was the impression Ace got when the man opened the door.

After a few moments of staring at one another, Ace decided to speak first, "I was told that I could find information on the house that Law is renting...from your boss."

Daz stepped back to allow Ace inside the house. The bald man walked over to some files, "Crocodile doesn't normally speak to people he doesn't know."

"I kinda muscled for the number because of weird stuff going in on the house." Ace was wracking his mind, trying to figure out why the name Crocodile was familiar. It hit him a few moments later, as Daz started digging through a few files after sorting them out of the rest of the file cabinets. Ace watched Daz work warily. He remembered that some of Whitebeard's allies had mentioned that Crocodile and Doflamingo had been enjoying dealing arms and other illegal paraphernalia right beneath the cops noses, and so far had gotten away with it.

"I'd be careful then. The boss likes his privacy." Daz commented after a few minutes of silence as he pulled out some papers from one of the files.

Ace figured that that was the case, since Crocodile had sounded like he wasn't at all pleased to have someone unknown calling him. It made much more sense since Crocodile was involved in illegal activities. Ace supposed that he would have to be careful, but somehow doubted that anything would be done. So long as Crocodile's anonymity was in tact.

Daz held up a few papers, "Will the deed to the house and pictures of previous owners do?"

Ace took the offered papers, and looked through them. Satisfied that he would be able to look up more information elsewhere, Ace waved the papers, "Is there somewhere I can scan these?"

Daz shook his head, "Just take them. You're staying with Law, aren't you?" Seeing Ace nod, Daz started to put the files away, "Then he can bring it back when he stops by sometime."

"...right." Ace followed Daz toward the door, and the older teen carefully walked past the other man, half pausing to glance at Daz, "Was what Crocodile said true? That if I found out what you did as a job that you'd have to kill me?

Daz cracked a very faint smile, "Yes, it is true."

"Thought so." Ace turned away and left with the papers and pictures as Daz closed the door. The older teen withheld a shiver. It had almost felt as if he'd been about to be attacked if he had pushed father with his question. Ace headed down the sidewalk, vaguely wondering if Pops had anyone with him like that. Calm, but with violent tendencies under wraps like Daz.

Ace returned to the house and did minimal research throughout the rest of the day. By the time that Luffy returned home from school, Ace had the information he wanted. As soon as Luffy entered their bedroom, Ace pulled his brother aside and over to a desk in their room. Ace pointed to the pictures that he'd laid out earlier, "Do any of them look like the person who shoved you yesterday?"

Luffy only had to briefly look at the pictures before he pointed to a hand drawn portrait of a muscular red head with wild amber eyes and a crazed grin, "That guy. He sorta looks like a pirate, doesn't he? Those gold coins are probably his."

Ace silently looked over the information in the deed and the history of the house, as well as small bits of info that he'd found on the internet. The older teen's face set into a blank expression as Luffy wandered off to go eat an early dinner.

It looked like Ace had been wrong about ghosts after all.

-x

Law wanted nothing more than to have a quiet night, but as soon as he stepped foot into the house, he saw that Ace was, again, waiting for him. Law expected the teen to say that something else had happened, but instead, Ace merely held out a picture for him to look at. The dark haired doctor titled his head to glance at it, about to ask Ace why he was bothering him when he'd just gotten off of work, when he saw who was in the picture. Law paled a little at the sight, and he guessed that Ace had been successful in wrangling some answers from Crocodile.

Ace saw Law's eyes widen a bit in recognition, "Luffy said that this was the guy that shoved him over the railing yesterday evening. I guess you've seen him before?"

Law stared at the portrait blankly, before he nodded, "A ghost." He'd never thought about the possibility of either of the teens seeing Kidd, but the doctor supposed that if the red head wasn't lurking in the hospital with him, that he had to be back here in the house.

"A ghost. I never thought they actually existed." Ace said in return, before he handed the doctor a document that he'd printed off from the internet that was relevant to the red head in the portrait, Eustass Kidd. Both Ace and Law heard something in the kitchen, and the freckled teen sighed a little, and headed in the direction the sound had come from, "I'll go make sure Luffy isn't eating all the meat in the house. Again."

Law stood motionless in the front entry of the house, before he went up to the master bedroom, and laid the picture and the document on the dresser a little more heavily than was really needed. Law crossed the room to a chair, and scooped up that days paper, as well as one from the week before, to put on the dresser next to the document that was already there. Law skimmed the paper that Ace had given him, before he turned his back on the dresser and spoke. He knew that Kidd was likely to be around. "If you're there, you do realize that you're dead? And have been dead for quite some time, from the looks of it." Law made a motion over his shoulder to the papers laid out on the dresser, "If you don't believe me, you can take a look at the dates on the newspapers, and the one that the document was retrieved from."

Satisfied that he had made his point, Law went to bed soon after. He hoped that Kidd seeing the dates would make the red headed ghost realize that the doctor was not who he thought he was. If Kidd realized he was dead, wouldn't that make him leave him alone already?

-x

Kidd had been watching Law's actions with a mixture of amusement and exasperation, and even a little anger that the dark haired doctor had told him that he was dead. Snorting softly and muttering something under his breath, Kidd headed over to the dresser to look at the dates on the papers, mainly to humor his lover. Kidd's eyes widened the longer he read through the document, and his amber eyes darted between the three dates that were glaring up at him in unmistakable clarity.

There was a difference of 125 years between the newspapers, and the document's date, which covered a missing person's story. His. Kidd leaned closer to read the article, and found that he, Eustass Kidd, had gone missing one day, and no one, not even those he worked with, knew where he had gotten to. It went on to mention that if he couldn't be found, his house would go up for auction.

Kidd stared at the article, before he glanced at the newspapers again. He clenched his right hand into a fist as he tried to deny what was staring him in the face.

Things seemed to fall into place. Things he'd been trying to ignore for a very long time, and had been more or less successful. Until now.

The reason why he had been waiting for so long. Why Kidd hadn't seen his lover, and had merely presumed that the bastard had run off for some reason or another. Why Kidd could only seem to reach the Law that was currently snoozing away in the bed nearby through dreams. Why the doctor had fainted when Kidd tried to touch him while awake. Kidd supposed that some of those things should have rung a bell. No person alive could hop into people's dreams and make them feel so real. Not that Kidd had realized what he was doing it at first. Kidd stared at the newspapers blankly.

He was dead.

It sounded wrong, but there was no way to deny it any longer.

Kidd was dead, and he had had no idea that he was.

Kidd stepped away from the dresser. Being dead, however, explained why he coughed so oddly on occasion. Like he was still trying to hack water out of his lungs. Kidd figured all those nightmares about drowning had been because he _had_ drowned. That's why Law had never returned to him, because Kidd had died that day.

Kidd ran a hand through his hair, letting out a low sigh as he tugged off the goggles that were there. He stared at them, not caring that his hair tried to adhere to gravity. If he was dead, why did things still feel so real? Was it because his own belongings didn't count?

Kidd approached the bed and gazed down at the sleeping man there. Even if Kidd really was dead, the red head couldn't help but see his lover in the man that was lying there. Their appearance, their voice and their mannerisms. Their temperaments. They were all the same, and it drove Kidd crazy. Maybe, just maybe, the Law that he knew was still inside this one somewhere. And Kidd only had to keep trying to reach him.

The red haired male scowled. To do that, he would first have to figure out how to physically hold Law. Preferably without making the man faint again like he had before when Kidd had first started trying to get his attention. The ghostly touches only seemed to do so much, as did the dreams…

Kidd started to grin. Of course. The boyfriend. The one that Law was trying to deny having. If he came over to the house, maybe Kidd could possess him. Ghosts could do that, couldn't they? That would settle the matter of being able to physically hold Law, even if it was through the use of another body. Maybe he could do other things now that he knew for a fact that he was no longer alive. It was disappointing, but at the same time interesting. That he was still hanging about after dying...

Kidd laughed to himself as he settled down on the bed to watch the doctor sleep. The red head reached out and brushed a few of his fingers lightly along Law's cheek. The motion drew forth a faint shiver. "Soon." Kidd promised, as if his Law were somewhere in the subconscious of the one he could see.


	16. Ch 15: Momentum

Law was halfway dressed to go to work when his tired mind realized what day of the week it was. The dark haired doctor let his jacket drape over a chair as he flopped gratefully back onto his bed. Law settled on the mattress a little more heavily as he let out a sigh of relief. Finally, he had a day off. Well, the dark haired suregeon was on call today, but it was more of a free day then he'd had in the past couple of weeks. Law didn't know how long he lay in bed, but when he finally rolled out of it, he decided that he was only going to get something to eat. And then he would go straight back to bed to get the sleep that he sorely needed to get caught up on.

Law passed by Luffy and Ace's room, and heard the two teenagers speaking to one another in quiet tones. The doctor headed down the stairs, and hoped that the two teens weren't concocting some plan that involved silly string and a massive amount of balloons. Once was enough, though Law did think at the time what Kidd must have thought of the teens antics. From the icy cold temperature that same night on the upper floor, Law figured that the red head wasn't particualarly pleased that Ace had set stuff on fire in the backyard to get rid of the evidence of a well laid out prank.

Law shook his head as he entered the kitchen, wondering what went through the mind of teenagers sometimes. He certainly wasn't like that when he had been their age. Law ate in silence, and while he was rinsing the dishes, a shadow passed over him. Law hoped that it wasn't Kidd trying to bother him in broad daylight. The dark haired man raised his head tentatively, and as he did, his gaze went to the window in front of him. He froze. Law's face took on an interesting look between distain and exasperation at the sight of a massive grin aimed in his direction. Law returned the look with a weary one. He really didn't need to start his day with the sight of a widely grinning Doflamingo, who had no doubt stooped to look at him from outside the kitchen window. Law sighed, before he turned and waved a hand, indicating for the blond to go around to the front door. The dark haired man heard Doflamingo laughing as he went around the house to the front, and Law reluctantly headed to open the front door.

Doflamingo was on the front step by the time Law opened the door. The blond took up the entire space of the doorway as he leered in amusement at the scowl on the doctor's face. When Law said nothing, Doflamingo titled his head as his smile slipped a little, "You don't look happy to see me." The dark haired man had always been a little hard to read, though right now, the blond figured that he had interrupted something.

Law let out another sigh as he shook his head, "I finally have a day where I only have to go in if the hospital calls, and then you show up. What do you want, Doflamingo-ya? And if it's another assassina..." Law made a muffled sound of displeasure when one of Doflamingo's large hands clamped down over his mouth.

Noticing the dark look Law eyed him with, Doflamingo glanced around, before he spoke in a low tone, "Not out here, where everyone can hear." Seeing the look deepen to an icy glare, the blond added, "And no, it isn't. Let's go in the house and talk?"

Law reached up a hand and brushed Doflamingo's aside as he took a step back, "...Fine, as long as I still get my day off today."

-x

Kidd gripped the railing of the second floor tightly, and had he actually been able to interact fully with the physical world, he would have split the wooden railing beneath his hands. He was fighting to keep himself from flying down the stairs and attacking the man that had just shown his face. Kidd only held himself back because he knew that the tall figure just outside of the house couldn't possibly be the same one that he had known. From 125 years ago. Kidd relaxed his grip on the railing as he frowned. Damn. It was still strange to think of himself as being dead. But that didn't seem to matter as much right now, because of the sight of the blond haired and pink wearing bastard. The red head wasn't pleased that Law looked like he was going to let that son of a bitch into the house. Doflamingo. The name that the violet haired man had mentioned. Kidd thought the name had sounded familiar, but hadn't really given it much thought. But to the important point. Law was dating _that_?

Kidd narrowed his eyes as Doflamingo just laughed at something Law had said. Kidd wasn't prone to feelings of jealously, not even when he and the doctor had begun to go out with one another. Mainly because he figured the doctor would find someone to be with when they weren't together. But Doflamingo...Kidd had quite a lot of problems with the blond. One of them being around Law when the doctor obviously didn't want him to be. Kidd shook his head. He hated to have to remind himself that the Doflamingo outside the front door was different then then one the red head had known when he had been alive, but still...

Kidd squeezed the railing again as he saw Doflamingo drape an arm over Law's shoulder as he said something. The red head was pleased that Law shooed the other man away, but Kidd was still incredibly jealous that Doflamingo was acting so familiar with the doctor. Though Kidd supposed that if they were going out they would have to be. Though Law seemed to like to be more private about his relationships. Kidd cursed under his breath. Dammit. It really was hard to keep things straight in his mind. Why did Doflamingo and Law have to look exactly like the ones he had known all those years ago?

"I thought I killed that son of a bitch before I died..." Kidd muttered crossly, displeased to think that Doflamingo somehow reincarnated into the same body to go after Law like he had in the past. Well, Kidd wasn't going to let the blond have the dark haired doctor. Because _his_ Law was still in there somewhere, and Kidd was damn well going to find him. He still needed to punish him for leaving him alone for so long. Though...maybe not so much anymore, since Kidd realized yesterday night that he was actually dead. Law would have come back to him if he hadn't gone and drowned. Kidd gripped the railing even harder than before. The Law he had known would have died within those 125 years, so why wasn't he lurking around as a ghost? Didn't he want to see him? Or had it been too long and the doctor had merely moved on with his life after the red head had vanished? After he'd died? Kidd gritted his teeth, before his shoulders slumped a little, even though the tension remained, "Trafalgar..." The red head mumbled softly. He could only hope that his lover was still somehow in the Law that was living in this house.

Kidd felt the sensation of hands trail along his shoulders, and it eased his tension down ever so slightly. Kidd tuned out of the conversation that Law and Doflamingo were having in the entryway to the house. He wanted to pay close attention to those phantom touches that seemed remarkably similar to what his lover would do when he noticed that he'd had a bad day. Kidd closed his eyes and let his mind drift. He wasn't sure if ghosts were supposed to be able to imagine things, but he was going to do it anyway. Anything to remind him of his Law. The one who wouldn't run away. The one who had stayed when all the others had left. Kidd thought of the past, and decided that since he despised Doflamingo, he'd remember what it was like getting revenge on the bastard that had injured him and had nearly harmed his lover in the process. It didn't matter to Kidd that it seemed as if he'd almost been forced to think about that specific event.

_Kidd walks forward, even though he really needs to let his freshly bandaged wounds heal. But he isn't about to rest now. He is going to make that bastard pay. He is going to confront Doflamingo that night, even if it is against what Trafalgar suggests to him earlier in the day. The red head is better prepared this time. _

_Kidd is prepared for many things, but as he enters the hospital, and prowls the floors in search of Law, he is not all prepared for what he finds. Kidd never expects to see Law, calm, collected, slyly smiling Law, afraid. Nor is Kidd ready to see the reason for it. The reason he wears a different expression. Because Kidd watches as Doflamingo forces himself on the doctor in a break room. Kidd sees the bastard has mostly torn the others clothes off, and Kidd doesn't think as he charges in. He rips the stiches in some of his wounds, but he doesn't care. Kidd attacks with a sharp blade. Plunges it deeply into the other man's side._

_Kidd grins as his lover produces a scalpel from a nearby cabinet and joins him. Kidd enjoys the protests, the death threats, but even more, he loves that Law gives him a devilish smirk. A promise of things to come in the near future. Kidd mirrors the smile, and turns back to carving up the blond bastard that dares to harm his lover._

_Kidd isn't aware how much time passes, but does realize when he breathes heavily. The red head isn't bothered as the doctor scolds him, and helps him out of the room. Kidd is merely pleased by the sight of Doflamingo, who bleeds heavily on the ground. And Kidd hopes he dies as Law smuggles him into an empty room to treat his reopened wounds. _

Kidd brushed the past from his mind again, and frowned a little. He could have sworn that the bastard had died then. No one could survive those wounds, even if he had been helped immediately. Well, it was in the past now. Kidd turned his eyes to the front door again. He had just found the perfect way to see if his Law was inside the other one. Law hated Doflamingo in the past, so perhaps possessing the blond would draw his lover out of hiding.

-x

Doflamingo ceased teasing Law as he stepped aside to let Ace and Luffy walk by him, and out of the house. The blond man wondered how much longer Law was going to keep them around in the house.

Ace let his brother run on ahead of him as he glanced up at Doflamingo, "...Do you know someone called Crocodile?" The older teen saw Doflamingo's grin widen, and took that as a yes, "I guess you do. Did he happen to mention to you that this house is haunted by a former occupant?"

Doflamingo laughed at that, "I didn't think kids your age believed in ghosts still." Doflamingo chuckled a little at the heated glare Ace had just thrown him, "I merely told Crocodile to show Law a few places in the area that were near enough to the hospitals he'd applied to."

"There wasn't a house closer that Crocodile might have shown him?"

Doflamingo shrugged as he spread his hands in a large shrug, "I don't see why it really matters, but I told Crocodile that this house was the closest, so it should be the one he suggested to Law first."

Ace gave the tall, flamboyantly dressed man another suspicious look, before he turned away and walked past Doflamingo, and in the direction his brother had gone. He didn't think that that was the whole story, but Ace wasn't going to bother prying while Law was around.

Doflamingo watched the teens leave, before he ducked and entered into the house, and closed the door behind him with one shove of his foot. Doflamingo straightened up, and noticed that Law was giving him an exasperated expression.

"Why are you here?" Law demanded, as he hoped that Doflamngo would answer this time instead of jerking his chain. He was tired and was really in the mood to go back to bed and hope his phone didn't ring.

"Crocodile wants a little extra cash for Ace getting a hold of his phone number. He called me as I was headed over here. He called earlier in the day too."

"If it's more money he wants, I really don't care. I'm going to be making more money soon enough."

Doflamingo laughed as he stole forward and draped an arm over Law's shoulders again, "Fufufu. I can take care of it. I find it amusing that Crocodile is getting so worked up over the whole thing anyway. It's hard to ruffle his feathers."

Law leaned a little to the side from the sudden arm over his shoulders, but otherwise didn't try to shake the other man off of him. Mostly because the blond had better leverage, but also because Law wasn't exactly bothered by the other man's presence as some others were. "Is that all you came here for? Because that's something you could have just called me about."

Doflamingo dropped his arm and backed off a little, "Do you still have Crocodile's number lying around? I might as well take it and reassure Crocodile that no one else is going to get his number."

Law shook his head. It was ridiculous that Crocodile would even think that he'd give away the number without thinking about who he was giving it to. He wasn't worried about Ace calling the cops on Crocodile unless he did something to his younger brother. Law jerked his head irritably, "Yeah, I have it. I'll go get it."

-x

Doflamingo waited, a little impatiently, for Law to return with the number. The blond peered around the living room, as if he expected someone to jump out at him. Doflamingo chuckled softly at the very thought. It wasn't because he thought someone was actually going to try and attack him. It was just the house. The longer he was in this place, the more uncomfortable he became. Doflamingo didn't like being anywhere near the short door to the basement. Hadn't liked going anywhere near the place when Crocodile had showed the house to him months and months ago. Doflamingo had only come over because he'd thought it was hilarious that Crocodile wanted an opinion about the place. Even if it was business, as the house was strategically placed near where their trade agreements took place.

Doflamingo was unaware that he was being watched by two sets of unseen eyes. Neither one of the gazes regarded the tall blond with a pleasant expression.

-x

Kidd checked to make sure that Doflamingo was all alone, before he started to walk toward him. He hadn't realized that he'd be able to possess the 'boyfriend' so quickly, and he was really anticipating the look on Law's face. Kidd never put much thought into horror, since he'd lived through some gruesome things while growing up. Hell, his life had been filled with crazy shit and a lot of death. But this? It was different. Kidd drew closer to Doflamingo, and was satisfied when the blond lost his smile. No doubt he was feeling the cold that Kidd presumed he brought with him everywhere he went.

Kidd wasn't exactly sure what he was supposed to do to possess someone, but figured that it was similar to when he had hopped into the dark haired doctor's dreams. Which meant that he needed to get as close as possible to Doflamingo. Distasteful, but Kidd was willing to do just about anything to get through to Law at this point. Kidd shut his eyes and wrapped his arms around the blond, plunging Doflamingo into a bone chilling cold. A cold that all but paralyzed the blond, and prevented Doflamingo from even making a sound of protest at Kidd's sudden touch.

Kidd kept his eyes shut, and decided to concentrate on the goal he had at hand. Possessing this pink wearing freak to draw out his Law from the one that was constantly denying him. Kidd wondered how long it would take to get control of Doflamingo's body. That's how possessions worked, right? Just hop on in to another body and wear it like a costume. Pretend you were someone else.

Kidd sensed alarm, and a presence, but he was able to force it out of the way, despite it immediately protesting the invasion. The red head didn't give one damn what some random thing thought. Kidd was going to have Law, and if he needed to use this son of a bitch's body to do it, he was going to do it. The presence backed off a little, whether from Kidd's own presence forcing it back, or because it was alarmed to realize that someone else was in the body with it. Kidd wasn't going to think about metaphysical shit that day, so the presence was going to remain a presence, and not a person. A certain blond person who was utterly confused with what was happening to him at that very moment.

Kidd opened his eyes, and blinked. What the fuck? Why was his vision suddenly a different color...Kidd let out a gasp as he realized that he was breathing. As in, actually taking air in for the purpose of continuing to live. Kidd shakily lifted a hand, and it sure as hell wasn't his. Kidd reached up with that hand and removed the glasses that were there, and dropped them on to a table nearby. Kidd grinned with the body he'd successfully possessed, and moved Doflamingo's body shakily over to a mirror. He'd always wondered what were beneath the man's tinted glasses. Kidd stared at the mirror for a few moments, before he grinned again, and spoke, "Damn, you are one creepy motherfucker. What person has that color of blue eyes anyway? No wonder you wear those glasses." Kidd turned the body away from the mirror, and shakily forced it toward the staircase. As he went up, Kidd didn't realize that the cellar door had creaked open.

Within the shadows, a pair of eyes watched Doflamingo progress up the stairs. The shakiness of the movement grew less and less as Kidd quickly got accustomed to the body he had just temporarily taken over. The eyes retreated backward into the dark until they were out of sight. The cellar door creaked back into place, and what sounded like a sigh echoed from behind the door.

It sounded like frustration, and it had been aimed not at Doflamingo, but at Kidd.


	17. Ch 16: Possessive

A/N: Same warnings from the beginning, although this chapter is mainly non con/dub con and is one of the possession sex chapters (is that even a warning?). As in, where one party wants it and the other doesn't, and the one that wants it won't listen to what the other one is saying.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Law entered the master bedroom and looked around silently. The doctor thought that the sooner he found Crocodile's phone number, the sooner he could get Doflamingo to go away. Law really didn't like it when the other man decided to show up unannounced. It had led to several misunderstandings with other people who worked for Doflamingo. Even bystanders seemed to think something was up when the blond trailed after Law on occasion. Though that was mainly due to the older man being unable to get into contact with the doctor, and the blond making the decision to go check things out for himself. Law was rather tired of it after several years and some embarrassing moments. Only Doflamingo could get some business meeting about smuggling to sound like an invitation to something very, very different.

Law scowled at the empty desk where he'd been sure that he had left the phone number. The doctor tapped a hand against the chair in thought. Where had he put it? Law half turned at the sound of footsteps, but then tuned them out. He assumed that Doflamingo was just walking around and amusing himself with how empty the house was. Law turned to the closet as he frowned a little in thought. The dark haired doctor hoped that getting the job at the hospital would lead to less rumors. And that Doflamingo would ask less of him now that he had a legitimate job. Law didn't exactly want to compromise it by doing something illegal for the blond. Law still had to confront Doflamingo about the whole Bellamy thing. Because if it hadn't been for Kidd being so fixated on him, Law was prepared to believe that Bellamy would have succeeded in killing him.

Law turned away from the closet as he decided that he would bring that particular conversation up before he shooed Doflamingo out of the house. As soon as he found the number to give to the other man, he would bring up what he had been trying to say at the front door. That if Doflamingo ever wanted him to do something for him again, that it had better not ever be another assassination, due to what had happened with Bellamy. Law could live with doing occasional smuggling, if Doflamingo really couldn't find someone else to do it for him.

It took Law a little longer than he thought it would before he located where he had put the piece of paper with Crocodile's number on it. On top of his dresser for some reason. The surgeon had made sure to get it back from Ace, but that didn't necessarily mean that he remembered exactly where he'd put it. He'd still been a bit out of it at the time. Law reached out to pick it up, when he heard someone enter the room behind him. The footsteps halted, and Law withheld a sigh, "Can't you wait, Doflamingo-ya? This is technically my house while I live in it. Can't you give me some space?" Law knew that Doflamingo enjoyed teasing him on occasion, but this was getting a little ridiculous. The older man was usually a little better at respecting other's privacy.

There was a laugh at that, and Law thought that it sounded unlike Doflamingo's usual laughter. Before the doctor could question Doflamingo about why he wasn't leaving the room already, Law heard the footsteps come closer. Law felt the taller body of his boss bump up against him, and had no time to react when Doflamingo's arms suddenly encircled his waist. Law ground his teeth in irritation as he was pulled backward, and up against a large expanse of chest. Law placed his hands on the other man's arms and set about trying to free himself of the sudden and unwanted embrace. This was exactly the kind of thing that Law hated.

Law let out a sigh of exasperation when he was unable to get Doflamingo to let go of him. The dark haired doctor slapped one of the forearms lightly. Really, Law wasn't at all in the mood for the blond to be toying with him, "Not funny, Doflamingo-ya. You being clingy like this is why rumors about us being together started in the first place. Keep your hands to yourself." The dark haired doctor shoved at the arms again for emphasis, to show that he didn't appreciate suddenly being trapped like this. Law fully expected to hear the blond laugh at him and let go. And then the older blond haired man would proceed to tease him good naturedly about being so serious about getting into physical contact with other people. Law knew that Doflamingo knew that he didn't ordinarily like to be embraced or touched in any way unless he made some indication that he wanted to be. And that was rare.

What Law hadn't expected was for Doflamingo's arms to tighten around his waist and for another rumble of laughter to emit from the blond. The doctor stilled a little, his hands still wrapped around one of the older man's arms in an attempt to get him to let go. Law scowled at the fact that Doflamingo wasn't listening to him, and squeezed the other man's forearm more tightly, "Seriously, Doflamingo-ya, let go. I really don't want to have to kick you." And the doctor would, if he had to. Law felt another laugh against his back as Doflamingo held him even closer. Law had not anticipated this, but what completely floored him was for not the blond's voice, but Kidd's, to issue from the man behind him.

"I'm not your boyfriend, Trafalgar. Well, I guess it _is_ his body." Kidd found it bizarre that he was now comfortable enough in the blond's body that he didn't have to do much to get it to do as he wanted. The fact that Doflamingo had left off resisting the intrusive possession of the red headed ghost likely contributed to that as well. Either way, Kid now had a physical body to use to interact with the doctor, and he was going to damn well get to use it before he lost control over it. Kidd winced when he felt Law's foot swing backward and come into contact with his shin, and he laughed a little as he urged Doflamingo's body down slightly so that the head rested on Law's right shoulder, "I don't know how he puts up with you when you act like this." Really, why was Law even bothering to try and wriggle free of the blond's arms? Where the doctor thought he could go, Kidd had no idea. It wasn't like he would be able to outpace Doflamingo. The other man was far taller and bigger than the doctor as it was. Law wouldn't be able to get too far. Besides, Kidd wasn't about to let him run now that he was finally, actually, able to touch him without making him faint. Kidd moved out of range of another kick, and decided that Law was just being an idiot.

Law felt one hand slip up beneath his shirt, and slowly caress upward until the large hand settled around his throat in a loose but firm grasp. "What'd you do to Doflamingo-ya?" The dark haired man managed to ask, and discreetly tried to wrench Doflamingo's remaining arm that had moved up to his chest. Law scowled a little at Kidd's scathing response.

"Isn't it fucking obvious?" Kidd grumbled, putting pressure on the arm around Law's chest to hold him more tightly against Doflamingo's.

"...I don't make it a habit of getting into sexual relations with my boss. And certainly not with a ghost that just decided to use the nearest body that was convenient." Law continued to try and free himself, despite the fact that Doflamingo's arm was settling more heavily over his chest to the point that it was almost painful. Law didn't like this one bit, and he had a terrible feeling about what was going to happen. But he didn't want to think about it. Not really. A ghost being real was one thing, but for a ghost to be able to...

"I thought you were supposed to be smart." Kidd commented in a mocking tone, "I thought that I'd try to posses someone and see if it worked. Ghosts can do that, can't they?" It obviously had worked, since that was what Kidd was currently doing with Doflamingo's body. It hadn't been as hard as the red head had thought it would be, and Kidd felt that he still had some time before he would have to leave the blond's body.

Law bit his lip as the hand that wasn't currently wrapped around his throat trailed down his chest and then went lower. The dark haired man shivered a little. He dimly heard Kidd chuckle next to his ear, reminding the doctor that Doflamingo's head was still resting on his shoulder. Law desperately tired not to respond to the touch. He felt he'd made things worse for himself by informing Kidd that he was dead. While that may have broken though the red head's delusional thinking, Law had expected Kidd to leave him alone. To stop thinking that he was someone that he wasn't.

Law felt the arms rest tighter, and he shifted, distinctly uncomfortable with the situation he found himself in. Unfortunately, from the way that the red head was acting around him, it seemed that Kidd was still fixated on him. And still thinking that he was someone he wasn't, even when the red head knew the truth. Law certainly hadn't anticipated that Kidd would decide to go a step further with his ghostly activity and possess his boss to make a move on him. Law closed his eyes briefly as the one hand trailed even further down, and dipped below the waistline of his pants. What the hell did Kidd think that he was going to accomplish by forcing himself on him in this manner?

Law felt Doflamingo's hand move back up to fumble with his zipper, and Law dropped his hands to the blond's and growled, "Stop it." The hand left his throat, for which the doctor was grateful, but it went and wrapped around his wrists to hold them out of the way. Law made a disgruntled sound of protest as the hand started to pull his pants down. Law tugged his hands in a more than likely futile attempt to free them and stop Kidd from letting him do this. Kidd merely used Doflamingo's hand to pin Law's hands against his tattooed chest, to prevent him from making too much of a fuss.

Law continued to fight back anyway. He wasn't about to let Kidd have his way so easily. Perhaps if he made too difficult, Kidd wouldn't think it was worth it. And if Law kept it up, then maybe Kidd would lose control over Doflamingo's body sooner. Law's arms strained against Doflamingo pinning them against his chest. If Kidd did succeed in going through with his plan, it was only going to make it worse for the ghost. The only thing that a possessed Doflamingo basically raping him was going to do was to make Law try and figure out a way to get the red headed son of a bitch out of his life. As soon as Law recovered from the encounter. The large hand dipped further, trailing down his hip as the pants were pulled down further. Law's breath hitched a little. Dammit. If he could have, Law would have killed Kidd himself for the hell the red head had been putting him through. Law twitched. Why the hell was that bastard so damn horny even as a ghost? Law desperately tried to ignore the way Doflamingo's body was pressed up against him. In that he could tell what Kidd thought about what was happening, due to the state the blond's body was in.

Kidd felt Law shiver, and was pleased that he was getting some kind of response. Kidd was satisfied that since he had possessed Doflamingo's body he had no trouble touching Law. Which meant that the other man shouldn't pass out on him. Kidd shifted Doflamingo' body, and he grinned inwardly. Well, Law would be conscious until he was done with him, and from the feel of Doflamingo's body in an aroused state, Kidd was going to enjoy this. The red headed ghost had Doflamingo grin eerily, even though he knew the doctor couldn't see, "I think _my_ Law might still be inside you somewhere, since both of you like big cocks." Doflamingo's body tilted its head and nipped the doctor's ear lightly as Kidd spoke again, "I'm a little disappointed that this bastard is so much larger than I am."

"Let go of me." Law's voice had taken on an icy edge as anger started to get the better of him. That Kidd wasn't listening, or realizing, that the dark haired man had quite a problem with this. But no matter how much Law struggled, he couldn't escape from the crushing hold that Doflamingo held him in. The hand that held his arms against his chest rested a little more heavily, and the slight pain that it brought from being held in that way made it hard for Law to think. To protest. Law desperately wanted to tell Kidd off. To tell the red head adamantly, over and over, that there was no other person in him other than himself, and certainly not whomever Kidd wanted to see. But Law couldn't, and the dark haired doctor felt his anger continue to rise within him that Kidd was forcing himself onto him again. And with his boss's body, of all people.

"I don't know how long I can remain in control of this bastard, so we're going to have to skip most of the foreplay and go straight to sex." Kidd grinned as he pulled back with Doflamingo's body and caught sight of an indignant expression crossing Law's face. Kidd laughed, "Don't act like you don't like that sometimes." Kidd ignored any protests the doctor might have issued as he manhandled him onto the bed. The dark haired man immediately tried to throw himself off the bed, but Doflamingo moved to pin the doctor onto the bed on his back. Kidd was pleased that the blond was taller by a few feet, and was able to keep the dark haired man from fleeing immediately. Kidd tipped forward and captured Law's lips in a demanding kiss as he went back to ridding the doctor of his pants the rest of the way.

Law's hands pressed up against Doflamingo's chest in a futile attempt to prevent Kidd from progressing any further. The dark haired man couldn't get much leverage, as Doflamingo was leaning over and kissing him, and that made it a bit difficult to really shove the other man away. Law shuddered as a tongue flicked across his lips, and the doctor fought to keep his lips shut. He wasn't going to just go along with this. If Kidd thought he was just going to give up and give in to the inevitable, then red head was more delusional that the doctor had imagined he was. The kiss was very distracting though.

In fact, all of it was very odd, since Law had to remind himself that it wasn't Doflamingo currently tugging his pants down, but Kidd. And it wasn't Doflamingo that was trying to make him breathless with a kiss. Law shifted uncomfortably, because the kiss he was currently locked in was distinctly reminding him of the one time that Doflamingo had drank a little too much and planted him with a kiss on the evening of the new year. Of course, the blond didn't remember anything the next day, but Law sure as hell did. And since then, Doflamingo was more than likely very confused whenever Law turned down the invitation to go out drinking with him and some others.

Law tried to break out of the kiss, but one of Doflamingo's hands merely rested against the back of his head to prevent that. The dark haired doctor shoved his hands against the blond's chest again, and felt a laugh against his lips. Law resisted the urge to growl at Kidd, knowing that that would only allow the red head to deepen the kiss, and further distract him. It irked the doctor to no end that red headed ghost seemed to have taken being dead in stride. Law didn't think that the whole possession thing should have been so easy for Kidd to figure out. And for him to take advantage of it so soon. Law wasn't sure whether or not he was grateful that Kidd hadn't tried to possess him.

Kidd was inwardly annoyed with Law squirming and shoving his hands against Doflamingo's chest. Kidd sighed irritably into the kiss, before he reluctantly drew away. He had hoped that the dark haired man would fight back, but the way he was going about it was rather sad and pathetic. With a shake of the blond's head, Kidd used Dolfmaingo to flip Law over onto his stomach. The action was done with such ease that Kidd had no trouble resting the taller man's weight against Law's back, before the doctor could even think to try and sneak away. Kidd moved a hand toward Law's head as he growled, "Stop moving around so damn much." The red head hoped that the Law he knew _was_ in this one somewhere. Perhaps he had to do more to get through to him?

"Get off of me! Stop pulling me into your damn delusions! You're dead and whoever you are looking for isn't here! He isn't me! Leave me alone!" Law couldn't believe this. Kidd still thought that there was some way for him to be someone he wasn't? If Law hadn't been so exasperated with the misinterpretation, he might have been interested in why Kidd was so adamant about the idea. The dark haired man's words, however, unintentionally set Kidd off. By making him think about the possibility that what he was doing would amount to nothing.

"Shut up!" Kidd wrapped a hand around Law's throat and squeezed. Kidd knew that he had made himself believe with absolute certainty that he had been alive for all of those years. However, Kidd wasn't going to give up just because he was being told one thing over and over. It was too much for Kidd to think that he would never see his lover again. Never be able to actually see or talk to him again. Be alone again for however the hell long he was going to hang about in this state. Kidd didn't think that he would be able to handle the solitude. Wouldn't handle it. It was almost...terrifying to think about being alone again. To have no one around him but himself, going day to day with no one to see or speak to. Distressed sounds drew Kidd's attention from his thoughts, and he quickly loosened Doflamingo's hold from around Law's throat, leaving the doctor to lay gasping and panting for air.

Kidd narrowed Doflamingo's eyes as he reached down and carelessly tugged Law's boxers off. He'd already rid the dark haired man of his pants moments earlier before he's started thinking about things. Kidd tilted Doflamingo's head, before he reached up and forced the shirt Law was wearing up and over his head. Kidd tossed it aside, amused when he caught sight of the tattoo across Law's back. One long finger reached out to trace it absently, "I don't remember this one either." Kidd's gaze slid down Law's spine, before he leaned over the dark haired man, who was still struggling for breath, "I like that one. Though I still think the death tattoos are the best." Kidd used one of Doflamingo's hands to give Law's ass a squeeze, and grinned when it drew forth a flinch and a gasp, "You should get one down here too. Then I'd be the only one that gets to see it. After I rip off your clothes." Kidd had made the decision to ignore the fact that the Law he was talking to wasn't his. That the red head still had some work to do to reach his lover, whom Kidd was convinced was somewhere deep in the subconscious of this one.

Kidd didn't wait for a response to his words, and instead used the body he was possessing to keep Law from rising. One hand held Law down by the base of his neck as the other hand maneuvered Doflamingo's body out of his pants. Kidd had to glance down, as he was curious, and the red head grinned wolfishly at the sight, "I thought he was big, but damn, Trafalgar. I know you liked big dicks, but this one seems a little bit too large, even for your tastes." Doflamingo's tongue flicked out along the side of Law's neck as Kidd muttered, "I suppose I like to be fucked roughly on occasion, so I could see you wanting to try it out sometime." Doflamingo's teeth grazed Law's shoulder in a light bite, and Kidd's voice took on an almost playful, yet dark, tone, "I'm only disappointed that I couldn't join you two. We could've had a threesome, even if I would have been the one to come out being in the worst shape. Especially with the way you play, Trafalgar, when we did manage to get a third person to come to bed in the past with us."

Law tired to drag himself away, but with Doflamingo leaning over him with a hand down against the back of his neck, it didn't seem to be doing him any good. From out of the corner of his eye, Law spotted the possessed Doflamingo produce some lotion from a pocket of his shirt. How the hell long had Kidd been in Doflamingo's body to drop some lotion into a pocket? Unnecessarily, the doctor realized that Doflamingo wasn't wearing his pink feathery coat. Then Law went back to wondering why the lotion was needed. And then it hit the doctor as he promptly remembered that he didn't have any reason to keep lube around the house. Shit. At that startling revelation, Law redoubled his efforts to wriggled free. Maybe he could hide under the bed or something until Kidd could no longer retain control over Doflamingo. It was stupid idea, even in his mind, but it was the best the doctor could come up with at this point. Before Law could try to flee, Doflamingo's hand rested more heavily against his neck, almost as if Kidd had anticipated what was going through the doctor's mind. Law could only squeeze his eyes shut when he felt fingers trail down the curve of his spine, and then dip lower.

Kidd decided from the way that Law was reacting with the sudden intrusion of a lotion covered finger that he was going to have to use a good amount of the stuff. More than he thought he'd need to. Kidd pinned the doctor more heavily to the bed to stop him from dragging himself away, and the red head supposed that he would have to spend more time than he expected preparing Law. Otherwise Kidd figured that they wouldn't be doing anything. Kidd didn't care for the moment that some of Law's struggles were from the fact that Doflamingo's body was pressing him into the bed. Damn. Kidd never had to deal with the doctor being so damn squeamish about the thought of having sex. Then Kidd had to remind himself, again, that this wasn't his lover. At least, not yet. He needed to keep pushing to get to that point.

"Relax, you son of a bitch. I know you don't always wanna bottom but it'll just make it worse if you don't calm the fuck down." Not that Kidd minded being a little rough with Law in those occasions. The red head never really knew when Law was going to be in that kind of mood, but he was more than happy to accomadate the doctor in those instances. He and his lover did like to try to one up each other in bed. The two of them got some sort of sick satisfaction out of it. Kidd kept going as he more or less ignored the fact that Law still trying to move away. The only thing that was in the red head's mind was that this wasn't his own body that he was using, and Kidd was still a tad disappointed that he wasn't nearly as big as Doflamingo.

Law fisted the bed sheets beneath him at the distinctly uncomfortable intrusion Kidd was visiting on him. The red headed ghost was terrible at picking up on another person's body language. Kidd was probably just ignoring him and doing what he wanted, and not giving any thought to how Law was feeling. Not noticing that he really, really didn't want to do this. And that he wanted the red haired ghost to remove Doflamingo's hand away from his body. Law tilted his head to the side so that he could glare at Doflamingo, and more importantly, at Kidd, "Stop it already! Doflamingo-ya isn't my boyfriend. I don't want you to...!"

Law's words were cut off as the large hand went from his neck to his hair, and gripped it painfully to twist it to the side to bring the doctor in for a kiss. The act made Law unable to finish his sentence, and Kidd decided that he was just going to ignore the fact that the doctor had been about to tell him that he didn't want to have sex. In Kidd's mind, it just meant that he had to do more, in the hope of drawing his lover out of the one that was still issuing protests. Kidd got some more lotion and added another finger, causing Law to mumble vehemently against Doflamingo's lips. Kidd rather liked that the blond's bigger body made it easier for him to control the doctor's movements. Kidd normally had to use some form of rope or handcuffs if his lover happened to be in a defiant mood, but still in the mood all the same. Damn. It drove the red head crazy when Law did that.

Law felt Doflamingo's hand in his hair tighten as Kidd attempted to deepen the kiss. The dark haired man wanted to try and talk Kidd out of this, but was finding it difficult with his lips occupied. The sensation of Doflamingo's fingers still preparing him with an almost lazy precision was distracting as well, as was the fact that he was starting to issue moans into the kiss. Which Law had tried to avoid, but a particularly rough movement from Doflamingo's fingers finally dragged the sound out of him. Law made a grunt of annoyance when Kidd finally managed to get Doflamingo's tongue to slip into his mouth. Law squirmed a little bit, both to what Doflamingo's hand was doing, and to the fact that he'd forgotten that the blond's tongue was a little longer than most people's. Law made a muffled sound, but no words could be formed, and dark haired man figured that Kidd didn't want for him to continue to deny wanting what he was trying to force onto him.

Law was also a little conflicted, but the doctor's mind came back online fully as Doflamingo removed his fingers and broke the kiss. Law couldn't stop letting out a brief gasp as the blond's body rested against his back.

Kidd was amused with Law's reaction, and he pressed closer, "I would have liked to fuck you with my own body, Trafalgar, but I guess this works too. I can feel everything that I'm making this guy's body do." Kidd tilted Doflamingo's head to the side so he could kiss the side of Law's neck gently, before he breathed against the skin, "I guess I get to see what it's like to have a bigger dick too." And he wanted to get to screwing Law sooner rather than later. Kidd was going to drag out as many noises from the dark haired man as he was able to. To make him stop denying that he wanted it. Kidd ran Doflamingo's hands along Law's hips.

Law's hands squeezed the bed sheets more tightly as he tried to drag himself away. He was especially motivated to try and make some escape attempt when he heard Kidd going for more lotion. As soon as Law felt just the tip of the blond against him, he fought hard to get away. He didn't want Kidd to try and put any more of that anywhere near his body. Just that one nudge alone was terrifying enough as Law actively tried not to think of just how big Doflamingo was. Law didn't get very far as Doflamingo's hand merely pressed down against the back of his neck again.

"You're not going anywhere." Kidd growled as he used Doflamingo's body to flip Law over onto his back again to face him. The red haired ghost had just about had enough of the doctor's pathetic attempts of escape. Why the hell wasn't he fighting back if he didn't want it? Kidd had thought that using Doflamingo's body would have drawn out some furious response from his lover, whom Kidd was convinced was somewhere in the doctor he had in bed with him right now.

Law quickly reached up and wrapped his arms around Doflamingo's neck while Kidd's mind was preoccupied. Law pulled himself further up, where he clung tightly with no intention of letting go. He had nothing to protect himself with, but he was going to fight in any way he could, to prevent Kidd from sticking Doflamingo's hard arousal anywhere near him. Law knew it was probably a useless gesture, but he wasn't going to...Law let out a thin sound somewhere between surprised gasp and a moan.

Kidd smirked as he had one of Doflamingo's hands engulf Law's pathetically limp dick, and started trailing the hand along it. Kidd leaned the blond's head over and started to leave kisses along the dark haired man's throat. The red head was amused when Law unconsciously leaned his head to the side, despite the fact that he also tightened his arms around Doflamingo's neck. Kidd ran the hand along Law again, squeezing lightly and drawing forth a squirm and a gasping groan from the motion. Kidd licked his way along Law's neck, until he was able to capture Law's lips again. Kidd smiled against the gasps and thin whines that issued from the doctor. Kidd slipped some tongue in again, highly entertained that Law seemed to respond that time. Or maybe it was just because Kidd had started working on his almost fully aroused member. Kidd chuckled into the kiss and spoke against Law's lips, "I knew you liked this kind of thing, Trafalgar. Stop acting like you don't." Kidd cut off Law's response as he drowned him with another kiss.

Law was ashamed that his body was responding to this bizarre assault. The dark haired man was even more humiliated when he moved his body slightly in order to get Kidd to continue what he was doing with his hand. Like he had before, in the dreams.

Kidd chuckled darkly at Law's response to his touch. Well, Doflamingo's. Whatever. "You're wasting both of our times by delaying this. I'm tired of it, and I don't wanna play anymore." The red head also didn't want to think anymore. Kidd just wanted to move things along. He wanted his lover to surface somehow. To talk to him like he had in the past. Hell, even look at him like he used to, to let Kidd know that it was him. To reassure him that he wasn't the only one who had ended up lingering on after death.

Law felt Doflamingo's other hand reach down and squeeze his backside. The dark haired man twitched but hung on grimly around Doflamingo's neck. At least, Law tired to, when the hand that was wrapped around his member squeezed and thumbed the tip suddenly. Law's grasp immediately weakened as he let out another gasp, as it was just a little harder than what Kidd had been doing before, and he hadn't expected his body to respond like that.

Kidd slid the hand along again, until he felt that Law was distracted enough. Kidd let go abruptly, and reached up with both of Doflamingo's hands to release Law's arms from their slackened grasp around the blond's neck. The red head really was done with the other's reactions. Kidd realized that it wasn't exactly Doflamingo doing it to Law, but he thought that the dark haired doctor wouldn't mind it as much. Law could deny going out with the blond until he was blue in the face, but it didn't change Kidd's opinions on it. Doflamingo had been far too friendly with the doctor to leave much room for other interpretations. He knew his Law could be ridiculously aloof when he wanted to be.

Law cringed as he dropped down slightly and came into contact with Doflamingo's obviously still aroused member. As one of Doflamingo's arms wrapped around his back to hold him against his chest, Law knew that there was no use delaying things anymore. The dark haired man braced himself against Doflamingo's chest as the blond's arm held him a little more tightly in order to prevent him trying to move away again. Law angled one of his hands so that it pressed harder against the blond's chest, "Stop it. Now."

"What? Don't start with that again." Kidd let the arm rest more heavily against Law's back, "If you don't like it, do something about it. Or does it actually bother you when you have sex with this bastard?" Kidd wanted some sort of resistance, but he did like the sensation of Law suddenly wrapping his arms around Doflamingo's back and digging his hands into the back of the blond's open shirt. Kidd maneuvered the body a little as he kept a firm grip on the dark haired man, taking the doctor's action as a no.

Law winced and squeezed his eyes shut as he felt Doflamingo's cock press up against him, before he felt it start to enter him bit by bit. Law clung to Doflamingo more tightly in an attempt to ignore the intrusion. There wasn't much he felt he could do at this point other than to give up and let Kidd do as he would. Law knew that he wasn't going to muscle his way free, and drawing out what was going to happen was just more torture on his part. Not to mention Ace and Luffy might return before too long, and the position he found himself in would be very awkward to explain. Law did try one more time to protest, but ended up merely biting his lip in an attempt to keep himself silent as Kidd nearly impaled him all of the way with Doflamingo. Law couldn't help but let out a faint sound against the blond's chest.

"You never used to complain so damn much." Kidd commented as he held Law more closely with Doflamingo's body. The red haired man pointedly put it from his mind that the dark haired man that he was holding wasn't his Law. Not yet. Kidd felt Law move slightly, and misinterpreted it as the doctor, and perhaps his lover, wanting him to get on with it already. Kidd started to move Doflamingo'd body as he growled delightedly, "You son of a bitch. Stop fucking with my mind." Kidd had the blond kiss Law again, and grinned against the doctor's lips when he felt Law tentatively move his hips, moaning something unintelligible. Kidd murmured breathlessly between kisses, "I love how hungry for cock you are, but I wanna hear you scream too, Trafalgar."

Law desperately fought to ignore the full feeling and sensation of Doflamingo moving in and out of him. The large hands lifting his hips. Law soon found it easier to concentrate on the pain rather than the actions that were causing it. Law rested heavily against Doflamingo and dug his hands in more tightly to the back of the blond's shirt and tried very hard not to move or speak. The dark haired man wasn't sure if he would have just had embarrassing sounds dragged out of him.

"You're no fun, doctor." Kidd whined, disappointed with the lack of noises issuing from Law. Kidd smirked all of a sudden as an idea came to him, and he laughed, "I know how to get what I want out of you, Trafalgar." Kidd knew that his lover liked to make him scream out in pleasure, and not vice versa. Since his Law hadn't shown himself yet, the red head knew just what he was going to do to try and get a response. Kidd turned his attention fully on Law, intent and very eager to get the doctor to emit that rare cry. Now.

Law was shocked as Doflamingo's larger frame tipped them both over onto the bed. Law's grip in the blond's shirt tightened to the point of being painful as the doctor's back came into contact with the sheets, "Ah!" There was no holding back any cries now, even if the one Law had just made was more one of pain than anything. The new angle that Kidd had put them in drove Doflamingo's member deeper in than it had been before, and Law had been unprepared for the rush of pain to hit him. The dark haired man took several gasping breaths, shifting his body faintly in a futile attempt to readjust to the new angle. Law felt a little ashamed when he realized that he kind of liked the pain, and the fact that it was Doflamingo. Even though Law knew that it was Kidd manipulating the blond's body, and that Doflamingo had no say in what was going on.

Law closed his eyes again as Doflamingo's body started to move, and the doctor tried to think of anything to distract himself from the feeling of being penetrated over and over. Law's hands dug in, and had Doflamingo's shirt been off, there would have likely been deep nail marks in his back from how tightly the dark haired man was holding on. Work. Law could think about work. Maybe a phone call would distract Kidd. "Ngh." Law grimaced as Doflamingo bit the side of his neck, before continuing on with the intent of giving him a hickey. Law unconsciously turned his head to the side, attempting to let his thoughts wander even more. Had he given Monet the folder to file for the patient he'd seen the day before? Had he made sure to find out who had been giving Shachi all the extra work? Had Law made sure that Ace didn't have access to the flamethrower he had out in the shed? Law couldn't remember. A particularly slow and deep thrust brought Law's thoughts to a screeching halt.

"Don't start getting lost in you thoughts, doc. Pay attention to me, even if I am in someone else's body." Kidd snapped, displeased when he noticed that Law appeared to be trying to ignore what was going on. Kidd didn't want that. He wanted the dark haired man to fight back. To have his lover show some kind of sign that he was there. That he knew what was going on. Kidd wanted to see that gleam in the other's eyes that would let him know that it was his lover that was looking back at him. And promising with that look that he was going to get him back for using this son of a bitch blond to get through to him.

Law didn't have much luck trying to hold back moans and gasps, and his mind was soon drowned in rough thrusts, bites and nail scraping. All of the sensations that were being piled on him at once was a bit too much for the doctor to handle, especially when one of Doflamingo's hands dipped down and roughly started to pump him until he couldn't hold back any longer. Law really did let out the scream that Kidd had wanted to hear when Doflamingo came deeply within him. It was a sound of pleasure and pain intermixed with one another. Law faded out a little from all of the extra stimulation, until he fell down from the high, and realized what had just happened. Law because acutely aware of Doflamingo still buried inside him, the blond breathing heavily in exertion. At least Kidd had had the presence of mind to not let all of Doflamingo's dead weight collapse onto him. Law held perfectly still as the blond pulled out and flopped to the side, looking as exhausted as Law felt. The dark haired man dimly wondered if it had anything to do with the effort that Kidd was making in possessing him. Law could only imagine how invasive it was, to have another person in your body.

Law grimaced as he settled on his side shakily. The same could be said for what had just happened to him. Law made an inarticulate grunt of protest, but could only weakly push a hand against the arm that looped around his waist and brought him up against Doflamingo's chest. Law stopped fighting when he noted that he was only wasting what little energy he had left. His aching body was obviously in need of rest, so Law didn't bother to try and continue to get away. The dark haired man closed his eyes and slumped against the bed a little more heavily as he went completely limp. Law felt the sheets tugged up over his waist, and heard Kidd's voice mutter to him.

"I can't hold on to your boyfriend for much longer, so I'll see you later."

Law was too exhausted and sore to bother protesting the whole 'boyfriend' comment, and it didn't really seem to be useful anyway. Kidd refused to listen to him in that regard, working under the impression that he was only lying to him. Law began to doze off, and could only hope that he would wake up before Doflamingo did. Waking up like this was just something that Law didn't know, or want, to figure out how to explain. Especially if Doflamingo woke up in bed with him half naked and didn't remember anything while Kidd had possessed him.

-x

Kidd went down to the living room, and settled on the couch. He lay there, motionless, and closed his eyes. The red head hadn't realized how exhausting it was to possess someone living. Or that he would get so tired when was dead. Kidd felt that he had used up a lot of energy that he had gotten earlier that day harassing Luffy and Ace. Later Kidd would contribute the lack of energy to be the reason that he didn't notice the cellar door open.

Kidd kept his eyes closed, but he could almost feel a cool pocket of air, not unlike his own when he went lurking around the house to follow Law around. But why did it feel cold to him...The red head frowned. No, the closer it got, the warmer it felt. Maybe it was just how he recovered his energy as a ghost? Kidd furrowed his brow. Was that a voice he was hearing? It couldn't be Doflamingo or Law, as both of them were passed out in the master bedroom. Kidd listened a little more closely. Most of it seemed inaudible, but Kidd's lips twitched in a small smile when he thought he heard the faint echo of his lover's voice speak to him.

_'You're such an idiot, Eustass-ya.'_

"Am I? I'm not the one that isn't around to tell me things like that." Great, Kidd was dead, and a ghost, and he was hallucinating and starting an argument with his lover, whom he had no idea if he was still lingering in this world as well. Kidd kept his eyes shut. He'd take what he could get.

_'Because someone is, again, being an idiot and not paying attention.'_

"Shut up! You're just being a stubborn son of a bitch and not showing yourself. You shouldn't be so damn hard to reach." Kidd heard a soft sigh, but otherwise there was no forthcoming response. Kidd wasn't surprised. He was imagining things anyway. The red haired man rolled over. The afterlife was weird as hell, and Kidd felt he needed to do something before he went completely insane. But first, he needed to recover his depleted energy.

The cellar door closed with a little more force than it had in the past, and had Kidd been listening, he would have heard a very familiar voice cursing him for being so dense.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

A/N: Um...more lemon-y than I normally write? And there's going to be more later on, because things just keep escalating. And there are more possessions too. Jeez, it was hard trying to describe things in this chapter, and it was a bitch to edit. Long chapter is long.

Kidd is in denial and incredibly oblivious, but yes to some of the questions asked in the reviews. It'll just take a few chapters to get there. There _is_ an explanation for why Kidd doesn't notice that there's another ghost in the house.


	18. Ch 17: Decisions

Doflamingo wasn't quite sure why he had fallen asleep. He had been positive that he had been waiting for Law to go and get Crocodile's phone number. Doflamingo yawned and snuggled closer to a heat sorce that he had an arm wrapped snugly around. Maybe he had sprawled out on the doctor's couch because he had been taking too long. Doflamingo frowned a little when what he thought was a pillow he was clinging to moved. That didn't seem right, and neither did the fact that what he thought was an inanimate object appeared to be breathing. Doflamingo's eyes slit open to squint in confusion, and the blond realized several things in that moment.

One, he wasn't on the couch, but in a bed.

Two, one of his arms was looped around not a pillow, but another person. That person being Law, who didn't appear to be very pleased to be squished up against Doflamingo's chest.

And three, most importantly of all, Doflamingo noticed that he was half naked, as was Law, because of how close the blond had him pressed up against him. The older man did not recall consuming any amount of alcohol, so how he ended up in bed with the dark haired man was beyond him. Doflamingo blinked dazedly, but had enough sense to immediately let go of Law, as the dark haired doctor had just pointedly jabbed his forearm.

Law winced and turned over so that he could eye Doflamingo silently. The other's pale eyes were blinking at him in utter confusion, and Law sighed, shifting uncomfortably, "You're back to normal? Do you remember anything?" Whatever normal happened to be for the other man. The dark haired doctor narrowed his eyes when he saw Doflamingo open his mouth to respond. Law was merely warning Doflamingo silently in advance to not say anything about his current condition. Especially since he had noticed a smile threaten to surface at how the two of them had woken up. Law was simply not in the mood for any kind of teasing, and that sure as hell looked like what the older man had been about to do.

Doflamingo wisely noted the expression and didn't say anything of Law's obvious discomfort. He could guess what had happened, and he wasn't going to go there, "I was waiting in the living room." Doflamingo frowned the faintest amount, "It's hazy after that, until now." And it was beyond frustrating. There was something he couldn't quite remember, and Doflamingo figured that that was what had led to this...situation.

Law relaxed minutely, even if he didn't like the idea that Kidd could make someone forget what happened to them when he possessed them. That didn't seem like something the red haired ghost should have been able to do, "There's a ghost in this house that is fixated on me. He thought he would possess you, and he did."

Doflamingo looked back at Law, searching to see if the other man was joking. When he saw the serious expression, the blond frowned again. Doflamingo supposed that would explain the uncomfortable feeling he had when he was in this house. While Doflamingo would have loved to tease Law about the very idea of a ghost, the older man held off for the time being. The doctor's expression had taken on a bit of a murderous look, as if he still expected that very thing from him.

Doflamingo held back any retorts that may have set the other man off and languidly rose out of bed. The blond reached down to retrieve his pants, and after straightening, spotted the scrap of paper with the number on it. Doflamingo reached out and slipped it into his pocket, before he turned in time to see Law, who had thrown on some boxers, have trouble retrieving his pants as he hobbled toward them.

Law caught sight of Doflamingo's questioning look, and spoke coolly as he managed to pull on the pants, "...The ghost liked your body."

Doflamingo grinned at that, "I like my body too." The older man held up his hands in a placating gesture at the icy glare aimed his way, "I'm going. I'll make sure Crocodile doesn't try and hike up the price of rent too much. Just keep that kid from calling him or harassing him again."

"Fine..." Even though Doflamingo hadn't actually been the one to force himself on him, Law didn't want the older man to be in the house any longer. The blond obviously picked up on this, as he immediately headed for the open bedroom door. Law followed along after Doflamingo as they made their way to the front door. All the while Law was pointedly trying to ignore his limp and the fact that his body ached horrendously after Kidd had had his fun with Doflamingo's body. Law glanced around as he walked, as if he expected to see the red head. But there was nothing there, and the dark haired doctor could only hope that the act of possession had somehow tired Kidd out, and would keep him away from him for a day or two.

Doflamingo reached the front entry, and retrieved his pick feathery jacket. He didn't recall leaving it there, but he wasn't about to think much about it. There was something going on in this house, and he didn't want to stick around to see if anything else happened. He guessed he ought to try and get Law to leave, but since the other man hated anyone trying to get him to do something, he would have to go about it discreetly. Doflamingo headed for the front door, deciding he would hold off on that for a few days to allow Law to calm down. Doflamingo could tell that Law was uncomfortable around him, and the blond wasn't surprised, especially if what the doctor had said had been true about what the ghost or spirit or whatever had done with his body. "I'll call if Crocodile has any other issues. Or if I need you to do something."

"No more assassinations, Doflamingo-ya. Bellamy almost killed me because he'd been ready for a fight, and I had to deal with him head on."

Doflamingo cast a look over his shoulder, his normal grin in place, "That's surprising. I thought you'd be fine dealing with that fool." The blond laughed at the death glare sent his way as he opened the door, "Fine. I won't send you on them without someone else going along. I doubt there'll be any more any time soon. I might want you to smuggle something in a few months, however..."

"Weren't you leaving, Doflamingo-ya?"

With another chuckle, this one of amusement, Doflamingo left the house. Someone wasn't too happy, and while he would have liked to question Law more about the so called ghost, the blond liked the idea of keeping his head on his shoulders. He knew that Law could be incredibly nasty if pushed too far, and Doflamingo wasn't about to get into a fight with the dark haired man for something stupid that could be prevented. The blond headed for his car, and put the incident to the back of his mind. Doflamingo did, however, decide that he was going to never step foot in that house again if he could help it.

Law watched Doflamingo leave, and just as he was about to shut the front door, Ace and Luffy returned. That was close. The dark haired doctor would have likely shut himself away from the world if the two teens had caught a possessed Doflamingo having sex with him. Law stepped aside as Luffy shot past him and raced up the stairs, looking excited about something. Law shook his head as he limped away to the living room. He wasn't going to ask. He'd learned to not question the younger teen's actions, since there wasn't much he could do to stop the teen from accomplishing whatever it was he happened to decide to do.

Ace watched the dark haired surgeon limp into the living room, and frowned at the sight. Law had been fine when they left. Had something happened? The older teen started after Law, and as he passed the mirror in the front hall, he could have sworn he saw a flash of red out of the corner of his eye. Ace didn't bother turning to look, as he wasn't actually wanting to catch sight of the ghost that was in the house. Instead, Ace narrowed his eyes at the thought that the ghost was nearby, before he continued on to the kitchen. Ace actively avoided looking at any mirror or reflective surface, since he had begun to feel a slight chill. He wasn't going to acknowledge the ghost, but he wondered if the red head had anything to do with why Law was limping so badly.

Ace snagged something to eat as well as a can of pop, before he went to join Law in the living room. The chill in the air had followed him, but Ace ignored it as he sat down on the couch. If he had looked up at the small mirror in the corner of the room, Ace would have noticed Kidd standing nearby and watching him with narrowed, unfriendly eyes. Ace lounged back on the couch and cracked open the soda. He took a few sips as he silently watched Law pour over some documents, most likely from the hospital. The dark haired man was shifting around occasionally as if trying to find a comfortable spot. Ace looked away, "You know, you should do something about your unwanted ghostly admirer." Ace chanced a look at Law, and smiled faintly at the sight of the doctor throwing a brief, harassed look at him before going back to his papers. Ace leaned back comfortably on the couch, "I could get into contact for someone that works for Pops."

"Whitebeard? Have you met him before?" That got Law's attention, and he relunctantly gave Ace his attention. It wasn't like he could actually concentrate on the papers from the hospital with the way his ass was so sore that he couldn't even sit down without it hurting. Hearing the freckled teen talk about something, anything, was just another distraction that would help him not think about the state of his body.

Ace nodded, not aware of just how uncomfortable Law really was, "Yeah, three years ago. He said that if I wanted a place to stay other than with Garp, I'd have to be eighteen. That's how old you need to be to either work for Pops or rent an apartment from him. If you have some money. I've heard the rent is pretty cheap, even more if you work for him..."

"What kind of job?" Law questioned as he continued to try, and fail, to find a comfortable position to sit in.

"That doesn't matter right now. I just know of someone that works for him that might be able to deal with the ghost or spirit in this house." Ace shrugged as he took a drink from his pop. He'd actually talked to the guy the other day, when Luffy had gotten shoved off the second floor by Kidd. The other man hadn't exactly seemed to believe him that there was an actual ghost in the house, and Ace guessed it hadn't helped that he'd set fire to the other man's car when he'd first met him. Only because Ace had thought that he had insulted him when the other man had only been attempting to explain something to him.

"...I thought that you didn't believe in ghosts." Law commented as he gave up and decided that no matter how he sat, he was going to be sore. And that he really wasn't in the mood to be looking at anything for work at the moment. He didn't particularly want to talk about Kidd either, but Ace seemed to be going somewhere with the conversation.

"I changed my mind after something went after Luffy and shoved me."

"Still upset?" Unnecessary, but Law felt compelled to ask anyway, even though Ace's expression alone was all the answer he needed.

Ace nodded, his expression darkening at the thought of what had happened, "Want me to give the guy a call?" The older teen could tell that the doctor was hesitant to reach out for help, from the way he looked uncertain. Ace was silent as he noticed Law wince again, before he added, "I doubt that you want to put up with whatever abuse that ghost is laying on you, right?"

"Who would you be calling?" Law agreed with the fact that he did not like at all that Kidd was just doing whatever the hell he pleased with him, whenever he felt like it. It had to stop, and if someone else could do it, he would give it a try.

Ace offered a slight grin as he stood up and headed out of the living room, "Marco. I'm sure he will explain what he does if he agrees to come over."

-x

Kidd did not like the sound of the conversation between Ace and Law. He'd been lurking just outside of the living room, listening to the two talk to one another. While Kidd would have liked to linger in the living room with Law, he wanted to see what the freckled brat was going to say to this Marco person. The name was unfamiliar, so it was unlikely that it was another person from Kidd's past.

Kidd stopped just outside the teenager's bedroom, and listened in on Ace's call. Kidd clenched a fist as the conversation went on, and the red head grew increasingly angry when it was clear that Ace wanted this Marco person to get rid of him. To either get him out of the house or make him leave this plane of existence. Kidd didn't want that. He wanted to stay and keep pushing Law further and further to see if his lover was there inside him. Kidd backed away as he turned toward the stairs. Kidd couldn't move on until he'd seen _his_ Law again. Until they were together again.

The red haired ghost drifted back downstairs after he had sneered over his shoulder at the room the teens were in. Not that they saw him do it, but it made him feel better. Kidd had thought that he wouldn't have to do anything about the teens other than to wait for them to leave. They weren't going to be there much longer anyway, but the older one had crossed the line with all the talk of getting rid of him. It was no longer the case of just waiting for the teens to be out of his life. Kidd was going to have to do something after all to prevent anyone from separating him from Law.

And Kidd knew just the thing to do, before anyone could even get over to the house to 'deal' with him.

-x

This was getting ridiculous. It was one thing that Kidd was oblivious to begin with, but for the red haired man to actually believe that there was someone else in that doppelganger was bordering on idiotic. The presence in the basement managed to manifest itself through sheer willpower, and it bore a striking resemblance to the dark haired man currently in the living room.

Trafalgar drifted up the stairs to take in what was going on, and he crossed his arms as he leaned up against the wall next to the small door that led to the cellar. The dark haired ghost watched disinterestedly as the other him settled on the chair more heavily. Trafalgar smirked briefly. It seemed that _someone_ wasn't used to having sex very often. It had surprised him to see Doflamingo enter the house, and while he admired Kidd's twisted idea of using the blond to 'draw' him out of the other Law's body, Kidd had been lucky that he hadn't.

Trafalgar loathed Doflamingo with a passion, and had it been him that Kidd had forced the blond on, Kidd would have found the body he was using to soon be incapacitated and unusable. Trafalgar supposed that it had been a good idea to use Doflamingo, if only he'd actually been in the other man. While Trafalgar loved his red haired lover and his usually one track mind, it could be quite exasperating to deal with. It seemed that all of that time alone had made Kidd shut anything out around him that would potentially interfere with him trying to find him.

Trafalgar settled more heavily against the wall as he watched Kidd. He'd been watching his actions ever since the red haired man had died. And as time went by, Trafalgar only grew more frustrated. The frustration hadn't been there much before, but as soon as that doppelganger and the two teens had moved into the house, everything had gone to hell, along with his patience. The dark haired ghost was pleased that Kidd had finally realized he was dead, and had been for some time, and that the red head was sure to finally see him. However, Trafalgar hadn't anticipated that Kidd would go after, and continue to go after, the man that looked exactly like him.

Trafalgar shook his head in disgust. Why couldn't Kidd see that there was no one else inside the other Law? Why couldn't he see _him_? He'd been trying fruitlessly to get the red haired man's attention, but Kidd took up so much energy that he couldn't work up enough to manifest before him. Trafalgar turned away from the sight of Kidd approaching the other Law on the couch. While he would have liked to watch the fun, Kidd's presence had become too overwhelming for him to remain manifested with the energy he had managed to take in that day. Kidd's lover vanished from view, but the faint presence lingered, just behind the broken down boiler in the cellar.

Waiting, as Kidd had waited, for the red head to realize that he had been in the house all along. That Kidd had never been as alone as he had thought, if he'd only looked a little more closely, and listened to the visions that Trafalgar had been implanting in his mind. The faint touches he'd managed in an attempt to get Kidd's attention, with what little energy Trafalgar had gleaned for a particular day.

The dark haired ghost knew that sooner or later Kidd was going to get the attention of someone who might actually be able to harm even a spirit, and knew he'd have to keep an eye on him. Especially now that Kidd had possessed someone. That always seemed to catch someone's attention, and Trafalgar could only hope that it wasn't anyone that could actually harm his idiotic lover.

So he waited to see how recent events would play out.

Trafalgar's eyes darkened in the gloom of the cellar, unseen. Both of them had waited a long time to find one another. He wasn't going to lose his lover without even being reunited with him. The odds had been stacked against them in the past, and it had taken a lot of work to draw Kidd to him, and only him.

He wasn't about to lose that.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

A/N: So I don't confuse myself or the people reading this, ghost!Law will be referred to as Trafalgar in text. And the alive Law, well, as Law. Both of them will be referred to as both in conversations, depending on who is addressing them. This will be relevant in later chapters.


	19. Ch 18: Out of Control

Marco wasn't quite sure what to think of the call he'd just received. He hadn't seen or heard from Ace for some time, so it was odd that the teenager would suddenly call him out of the blue. And all the talk of ghosts and hauntings...Marco turned away from the phone and headed into his room. He may as well check things out, as Ace had sounded like he truly believed there was something going on in the house that he was staying in that he couldn't explain.

Marco stared off into space as he pondered. He highly doubted that Ace would be trying to waste his time, and knew that the teen didn't normally reach out for help unless he honestly had no idea how to handle whatever situation he was in. Marco was briefly distracted when someone cursed in the next room over, along with the sound of something thudding on the ground. Two voices accompanied the cursing, one feminine and questioning, the other masculine and exasperated.

"You know that that's really expensive equipment, right?"

"Dragon lent those to us. Be more careful with them."

Marco shook his head at the gruff, growling expletive from the third person in the room.

"Fuck off. The damn thing slid outta my hands!"

Marco shut his bedroom door. Perhaps he should have told the other two to find someone less temper prone. It couldn't be good for all of the breakable equipment the two used. Their presence had been unexpected, as was the fact that he was going to want them to come along with him. As well as the other person who had showed up to his house not too long ago. Marco turned to the woman that was in the room and shrugged in a show of apology, "I didn't realize they'd show up like this."

The pink haired young woman shook her head, "I knew they were going to be here. Just as I knew that you were going to contact me before you did."

Marco studied the woman silently before letting out a slow sigh. Psychics, and a psychic medium at that. Normally he wouldn't have bothered, but Perona had seemed to be insistent over the phone to join him in going to the house Ace was at. That she had called and come over before Ace had even contacted him made Marco more likely to go over to the house. He'd worked with Perona before, and knew that she was the real deal, if a little odd to most people.

"I sense an unease in the air. The spirits are restless. Something is happening, soon. We should leave before too long."

Marco rummaged through some drawers. Nope, while he was somewhat sensitive to spirits himself, Perona was on a whole other level than he was.

Another crash rang out.

"Shit!"

"Oh dear, that one was worth a few hundred dollars."

"And you're going to be paying it back."

"...Fuck."

-x

Ace was relieved that it sounded as if Marco would come over, if only to humor him. The other man was still obviously upset about the freckled teen's arsonist activities. Ace absently set his cell phone on his desk, and guessed that he would have been angry if a very expensive and rare car went up in flames for no apparent reason.

Ace glanced across the room, and smiled faintly at the sight that greeted his eyes. His younger brother certainly could sleep in odd positions. Ace wandered over to where Luffy was snoring upright in a chair, half hanging off of it, and looked at the desk in front of him. The gold coins were laid out, and there were some scribbles on scraps of paper. A pen was laid across one of them, so that was the one that Ace picked up. He highly doubted that Luffy had enough focus to do research, and Ace was right as soon as he read the small piece of paper. It almost sounded as if it were addressed to someone:

_I can see you, _

_I overhead you,_

_and I know what you're going to do._

_If you continue to interfere..._

The writing grew rougher, and Ace had to squint in order to make it out:

_...I'll see to it that you all die._

_I'm merely disappointed that I won't be the one to do it, but I'll enjoy watching the show._

Ace felt a cold chill, and twitched when what felt like a hand brushed up against his pant's pocket, where he still had the ring from weeks ago. The cold almost immediately vanished, but the voice that had accompanied it made Ace head for the door without a word. The older teen felt that he should let Law know that he'd just heard a voice remarkably similar to the doctor's own, but for the icy and sinister tone it had held.

Ace had never believed in ghosts, but this house and its touchy feely, ghostly inhabitants were quickly making a believer out of him.

-x

Trafalgar smirked crookedly at the way that the teenager, Ace, had reacted to his presence. Contrary to what he had believed earlier, the dark haired ghost was able to save up some energy to interact with the physical world. As soon as he had realized Kidd's intent was the removal of the teens from the house, Trafalgar desperately wanted to find some way to assist him. The ghostly doctor drifted nearer to Ace, who, apart from an odd shudder, didn't react to his presence this time.

Trafalgar frowned at this. Apparently he wasn't at a high enough energy for the teen to really notice his presence, and Trafalgar knew that there was no way he was capable of possession at this point in time. Kidd took in too much of the house's energy, mainly due to the fact that the house was originally his, and therefore his ties to it were much stronger than Trafalgar's own, as he'd merely been a semi-permanent visitor.

The dark haired ghost's smirk returned. Even if he couldn't possess anyone, if Kidd did, he could try and assist his lover in the removal of the irritating teen's and their interfering antics. While it was mainly the older one, Trafalgar preferred for both of the teens to be out of his life...afterlife...whatever the state he was existing in would be considered.

Ace made it to the stairs, and Trafalgar continued to follow, invisible, and caught sight of what was happening on the first floor. His smirk turned into a dark smile, and he just loved the way that Kidd had decided to deal with the intruders in his home.

Trafalgar really was quite disappointed that he couldn't do too much, but he had decided he couldn't miss the sight of his lover causing some mayhem with his newly discovered state of being. Trafalgar's lips curled. It was...fun. A fun that the dark haired ghost hoped that he could soon be able to participate in when Kidd finally noticed his presence.

Trafalgar had a lot of plans, and while many of them involved his red haired lover, the dark haired ghost also wanted to deal with his doppelganger. It was Trafalgar's ultimate goal for both he and Kidd to be able to possess people at the same time. Trafalgar's smile stretched at the thought.

And that would be when the real fun began.

-x

Law knew that he had a lot of work to catch up on before he returned to the hospital the next day, but he hadn't even begun to recover from the abuse that Kidd had done to him through Doflamingo. The dark haired doctor briefly closed his eyes to rest them, trying to decide what to do for the rest of the day. Rest was an obvious thing, but so was making sure everything was in order for the next day. Law nearly groaned when he felt the temperature of the living room drop, signaling to the dark haired man that Kidd had decided to pay him a visit. It was far too soon, and the red haired man's advances on him were never going to be welcome. No matter how much Kidd thought that the man he knew was somewhere inside of him.

Law took in the immediate area with a few tired blinks of his eyes after he'd opened them. He relaxed minimally when he realized that the red head hadn't decided to manifest before him. _That_ had been startling the first several times, and even when it no longer was, the sight of Kidd standing in a room and normally glowering at him wasn't something Law wanted to get used to either.

The dark haired doctor decided that if Kidd were going to just linger and try to freeze him, that he had no interest in staying in the living room. As soon as Law attempted to rise, a frigid cold suddenly rushed over him, and the doctor found that he couldn't move. At all. No matter how much he tried to, he couldn't get his body to listen to him. A panic set in at this realization, and Law hadn't been at all prepared to hear Kidd's voice mutter in his head.

'_It's too bad that brat can't mind his own damn business.' _

The sensation of being out of control of one's body made any rational calm Law may have had shatter, and was beside himself with terror when he felt his own hand move, and not of its own volition.

If he could have said something, Law was ashamed to think that he would have either screamed in protest or swore at Kidd. Especially when he felt his own hand trail up beneath his shirt and scrape along the skin. The hand withdrew after a moment, a little reluctantly. Somehow, like Doflamingo before him, Kidd was possessing his body and forcing it into movement. Law was disturbed that he could actually feel every movement as if it were his own, even though he wasn't the one currently moving his body. That alone was terrifying, and Kidd didn't seem to be aware of just how panicked he really was. The red haired ghost had something else in mind entirely.

_'Don't struggle too much. There's something I wanna have you do right now, Trafalgar.'_

Law was trapped, and there was nothing he could do but watch helplessly as things unfolded before him.

-x

Kidd laughed delightedly at Law's response to being out of control of his body. It was quite different than with Doflamingo, who hadn't protest too much once he realized Kidd's intentions. The red haired man had almost laughed when the blond had flat out lied to Law about not remembering anything. The son of a bitch had enjoyed letting the red head use his body to fuck Law, and didn't seem too disturbed that he was out of control of his body. Kidd supposed he could appreciate the twisted mind of the man, even if he hated his guts for resembling the same man that had, in the past, tried to tear Kidd and Law apart from one another.

Kidd used Law's own voice to whisper to him, and felt the other man's panic rise, even though he couldn't say anything in protest. "Don't fight it. I know you love killing as much as I do." Kidd laughed, a little psychotically, and it was the laugh of a man who was looking forward to spilling some blood after such a long time. Roughing someone up a bit during sex was far different than slicing a person up with the intent to kill.

Kidd pointedly ignored Law's protests as he headed to the kitchen, and scanned the area, before his eyes settled on something. Kidd smiled.

A big butcher knife from the cutting block would do quite nicely.

-x

Ace was halfway down the stairs when he spotted Law heading toward him silently, his head lowered and looking at the ground. Ace felt an unexplained chill race up his spine before Law even touched the first stair step. When Law's head slowly lifted to look at him, Ace's feelings were justified. Law looked as if he's lost his mind with the uncharacteristically wide smile stretched across his face. And brandishing a very large knife from the kitchen. Ace reacted a tad too slowly as he backpedaled backwards, and if he hadn't been so distracted by Law moving forward to attack him, he would have noticed a faint presence shove hard against his back to impede him.

Trafalgar was there, and he was trying his hardest to phase his actions into the world around him, and just barely managed to pull Ace off balance and make the teen miss the stair he was back stepping on to. The dark haired ghost smirked as his lover, possessing the other Law, took the presented opportunity and swung the knife in a short arc.

Ace caught himself on the stairway railing, but couldn't move himself out of the way in time to avoid being struck. Ace winced and bit his lip against the pain of his left ankle being given a shallow gash by the wickedly sharp knife. Ace twisted to the side to avoid another stab, but wasn't prepared for what felt like a shove in the back that sent him toward the knife, Law grinning as the knife made it's way for the teen's stomach. Ace threw out his hands and managed to seize the doctor's arm, angling the blade away from himself. The action caused both men to be thrown off balance, and they both took a tumble down the stairs.

Momentarily winded, Ace was the first to recover. He didn't bother to continue the fight since Law seemed to be out of his mind. The older teen needed to wake Luffy up and get to his cell phone. Marco needed to get to the house sooner, it seemed. Ace didn't like that Law was acting acting like a psycho out of a horror movie. It wasn't at all like the surgeon. It was as if he had a completely different personality.

Ace managed to get close to the stairs before he felt a sharp, burning sensation slice across his back. That didn't seem right, and neither did stumbling forward a few steps, and then collapsing. The warmth trailing down his back made Ace realize that Law had just injured him, and the older teenager was concerned that he couldn't tell how deep the cut had been. It had to have been quite a lot of damage, because Ace was finding that he was having trouble rising. A cold touch that trailed along his wound didn't help at all, and Ace had to bite his lip again to stop from crying out. The agony that crashed through his body threatened to keep him down, as did the cold touch that had settled there, but Ace fought it back stubbornly. He still needed to get to Luffy, before Law could.

"I think I'll come back to finish you off. I'll take care of your little brother first."

Even though it was Law's voice, the inflections sounded wrong. Ace didn't want to think about possessions, but there wasn't any other explanation for Law's behavior. Only be one person could be responsible. Eustass Kidd. The ghost in the house. Ace lifted his head as he propped himself up on one arm, "Leave my brother alone!" Ace snarled through the pain, and threw himself at Law to grapple the dark haired man's legs. He had to stop him from getting up the stairs.

Kidd was irritated with the older teen's persistence. He could have sworn that he'd landed a debilitating wound that should have kept the brat from getting up so soon. The red haired ghost snorted and used Law's body to kick at Ace in an attempt to dislodge him. The fool should have just given in to the inevitable. He was in no position to be doing anything to defy him. Kidd was going to get them out, and if it was in body bags, that was fine with him.

Ace hung on to Law's legs grimly, and took the occasional blow when the dark haired man freed one of his legs to kick at him roughly.

"Hey! What're you doing?!"

Kidd turned in time to see Luffy race down the stairs, raising a fist as if he were going to slug Law in the face. Kidd laughed at the sight. The younger teen was crazy. He was throwing himself into danger, when the knife was quite clearly in his hand.

Luffy darted down the last few steps before he launched himself into the air at Law, and swung his fist hard, "Leave Ace alone!"

Kidd considered just stabbing Luffy, but decided that wouldn't be any fun. He wanted to drag this out for a little while longer. Kidd leaned Law's body to the side, narrowly avoiding the teen's fist, and used the hand not holding the knife to seize the same arm. Kidd swung Luffy aloft, and considered getting at least one stab in.

"Stop it!" Ace gasped, tugging at Law's legs and feeling frustrated with the weakness in his limbs. He couldn't tell how much blood he was losing from the slash across his back, but he couldn't stop. Ace watched in horror as Law tossed Luffy carelessly across the front hall with a lot more strength than the doctor should have had. Luffy hit the ground and lay near the wall, gasping for breath. "Stop!" Ace winced as one of Law's kicks connected with his head, and the teen lost his grip as the dark haired man began to make his way over to where his brother lay.

Ace shakily shoved himself up and stumbled upright to his feet, staggering a little as he forced his wounded body into motion to get to Luffy. Panic swept through the older teen as he watched Law angle the blade and make as if to swing it down at the prone Luffy. The sight made Ace to push himself even more, and he lunged, narrowly managing to put himself between his brother and the knife.

Luffy let out a surprised gasp as a weight landed on him, and he twisted slightly, his eyes widening at the sight of the knife sticking out of his brother's back, "Ace!"

Ace titled his head and managed a small smile, trying to make light of things, "What'd I tell you...about picking a fight with someone?"

"Make sure you know your opponent before you strike." Luffy responded, teary eyed as he wriggled out from beneath his brother and attempted to help him up. Ace tried to assist his brother, but with the knife in his back, he didn't get very far, and slid back to the ground with a grunt of pain.

Ace!"

"You brotherly bonding is pissing me off. Why don't the two of you just die together so you won't have to worry about a thing?" Kidd looked around for another weapon that he could use, but guessed he'd have to just use Law's hands. Ace seemed to be in no position to resist anymore, and the younger teen wouldn't be any match for him. Kidd started to head for the two teens, smirking a little at the sight of Luffy trying to protectively hide Ace from his sight. Fine. Kidd would just deal with him first.

The front door being forced open changed his mind, and Kidd turned Law's head in the direction to see who had dared to interrupt him. And stiffened in shock. A man was standing in the doorway that he had never wanted to see again.

Hawkins.

From the long haired man's expression, Kidd was fairly certain that he could sense him, or at the very least realize, that he was possessing the dark haired doctor's body.

Next to the doorway to the living room, Trafalgar froze in place as Kidd had. The ghost's eyes darted to the man in the front doorway's hands, and cursed inwardly. It seemed that his red haired lover had attracted the attention of someone who could very easily harm him after all. And there was absolutely nothing Trafalgar could do but wait and hope that Kidd would survive his first encounter with a spell caster.

One who didn't appear to be very pleased with what he saw.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

A/N: Yes, I added those characters, if you spotted it. The recent manga chapters must be getting to me. I regret nothing, as this fic is already messed up enough as it is. Plus it's AU so I feel justified in using them. And yes, the influx of characters will be around for a bit, before dropping back down to only a few a chapter. I'm having way too much fun with this so hopefully everyone's enjoying it for what it is.

And yes, I'm horrible with the whole Ace thing. He'll be fine. Mostly.


	20. Ch 19: A Plan

Law's eyes flashed dangerously at the sight of the long haired man with the tattoos across his brow. Kidd didn't like the weird feeling he got when he'd been near the other man before. It had seemed as if Hawkins had been staring him down. Looking into his very being. Which was a very odd sensation. Kidd narrowed Law's eyes. He wasn't an ordinary man, that was for sure. There was something that Kidd could sense that he didn't like. It was odd, and the red haired ghost couldn't quite figure out why that was. It wasn't as if he feared the man, exactly. Hawkins hadn't even made a move yet other than just standing there and looking like an idiot anyway.

Law's visage took on an arrogant smirk. But it wasn't like the son of a bitch could actually hurt him since he was currently possessing Law. He'd only end up harming the doctor too. Law's smirk deepened as he locked eyes with Hawkins. Kidd would just take the intruder down then and there, and go finish off the two teens, one of them already incapacitated as it was. Kidd's problem would be solved, and he could go back to attempting to draw his lover out of the man he was currently possessing.

Hawkins showed no outward concern at the sight of Law starting to walk toward him with a manic glint in his eyes. Hawkins merely dipped a hand into one of his pockets and drew forth a few slips of paper with symbols drawn onto them. With a few whispered words, Hawkins tossed them with a flick of his wrist in Law's direction, where four of the slips of paper stopped abruptly to hover in midair around the dark haired doctor.

Kidd leered unpleasantly at the other man, even if he was inwardly wondering why the fuck the scraps of paper were floating in midair and not falling down. Kidd hid his unease about thoughts of witchcraft and magic, and settled for laughing as he kept his eyes on Hawkins, "I think I'm gonna kill you too. I warned you to stay away, didn't I?" Kidd urged Law's body forward, the crazed look intensifying, "I'll kill anyone who interferes."

Hawkins raised his hand out toward the hovering slips of paper around the possessed Law. The long haired man felt it better to take care of things now before the spirit could become more violent than it already was. Hawkins wasn't going to waste his breath conversing with the spirit at this point.

Kidd heard the long haired man mutter something, and twitched as the cards began to glow. A weird sensation washed over the red haired ghost, and he didn't like it one bit. It was unpleasant, "What the hell?" Kidd tried to force Law's body toward Hawkins, but couldn't. The red head wanted to stop Hawkins before he could do anything more, but found that he couldn't move Law's body.

"Release your hold over this man. That body is not yours to use as your own." Hawkins made a sharp gesture with his hand, and the cards flared even brighter, "Be gone."

Kidd made a choked cry of protest as he felt his hold over Law's body waver. Whatever the fuck that damn long haired bastard was doing was messing with his possession of the doctor. The slips of paper around him were letting off a strange, heavy aura, and when it swept over Law, Kidd bit back a gasp as it seemed to settled around just him. It hurt. Whatever it was, it hurt. It hurt like hell. A searing wave of agony swept over Kidd soon after, and it seemed to settle heavily around him, sapping away the red haired ghost's energy. The energy required to interact with, and sometimes possess, the living. Another wave of powerful energies struck him, and Kidd was forced to leave Law's body before the now burning slips of paper could emit any more of the energy draining aura.

Kidd stumbled just out of range of the now on fire and burning slips of paper. The red head cursed hoarsely as he blindly tried to put himself as far away from the source of pain as he could. The light the paper was emitting hurt just as much as when it'd been settled inside of him, he needed to get away from it. Kidd couldn't think straight.

The red haired ghost drifted out of Hawkin's sight, and up into the master bedroom. Kidd sunk to the ground weakly, and grit his teeth at the realization of the state he was in. Kidd scowled, and wondered why he was feeling so shitty, even though he was already dead. It shouldn't have hurt as much as it had, but the bizarre attack that Hawkins had launched against him had left him drained and exhausted. Kidd glared at the bedroom door. That long haired man was dangerous, using weird magics and tricks like that.

Kidd sincerely hoped that Hawkins didn't come up there after him. The red haired ghost wasn't sure that he'd be able to survive another weird strike like that. With that thought, Kidd kept his eyes to the bedroom door, and watched it warily as he waited for his energy to return to him.

-x

Hawkins relaxed his stance. The spirit had gone away, for the time being. He turned his attention to the dark haired doctor.

Law swayed on the spot dazedly. Even though he was relieved and grateful that Kidd's presence was gone, he didn't feel too well. The drain and mental anguish of being possessed and being unable to do anything in retaliation had taken its toll on him. As soon as the paper cards hanging in midair around Law burned out of existence, the dark haired man dropped to his knees and collapsed to the ground the rest on the way, unconscious.

Hawkins looked around the immediate area. Satisfied that Kidd was going to stay upstairs, he walked over to Luffy, "You. Boy. Call your grandfather. I'll keep watch over your brother."

Luffy looked as if he wanted to protest leaving his brother's side, but did as asked. Ace needed help, and he couldn't get his older brother to the hospital on his own. It wasn't until later that Luffy would wonder how Hawkins had known that he should call Garp.

Hawkins knelt down next to Ace to check on him, and was faintly surprised to see that the older teen was still conscious, if barely. Hawkins spoke before Ace could, "Your brother is unharmed. I expelled the spirit from the doctor." The long haired man lifted his head to look up at the second floor, "However, the spirit still remains in the house, but it will be weakened for some time after that spell." He fell silent, as he'd seen that Ace had passed out. Hawkins shook his head. Kidd was one of the most unpredictable feeling spirits Hawkins had come across in a long time. He had been right when he'd first laid eyes on the red haired spirit outside of his shop.

Something had to be done, or people were going to die.

-x

Dreamless sleep was a mixed blessing, because it meant that as soon as he woke up, Law had no idea whether he was still dreaming, or truly awake. Kidd's past endeavors with realistic dreams had left the dark haired doctor questioning his sanity when it came to whether he was awake or asleep.

But Law knew he was awake this time, with the sight of Garp in the room with him and scowling a little. Law had no idea what to say to explain himself. How did one try and tell someone else that a psychotic, mentally disturbed ghost had decided to take your body for a joyride of mayhem and death? Or try to, anyway. Luckily for the dark haired doctor, Garp spoke first and saved him the need to come up with an excuse.

"Most people call the police instead of trying to deal with intruders on their own. But you saved my fool grandkids, so I guess you just got lucky doctor."

Law blinked in confusion at the older man, "What?"

"You don't remember the crazy guy with the knife attacking you? That's what Luffy said, anyway." Garp laughed, "Too bad that bastard got away. I would have given him a punch to the face for messing with those two."

Law sure as hell remembered the knife, as he'd been the one holding it. Not that he was going to tell Garp that. The doctor hadn't thought that Luffy would be smart enough to come up with a white lie like that. Maybe his brother had told him something before the cops had...

Law looked at Garp sharply, "Is Ace all right?" It had been quite disturbing to hear Kidd laugh, almost happily, as he forced Law's body to stab the knife down at Luffy, and had instead stabbed Ace in the back. Kidd had been disappointed before he'd promptly cracked up and muttered to Law that that had saved him the trouble of having to walk back over to Ace. Law had been disgusted with the red haired ghost by that point, but couldn't stop Kidd from trying to follow through with injuring the teens further. Law supposed that he was very lucky that Hawkins had shown up.

Garp apparently didn't notice Law's inner turmoil as he responded, "That fire starting troublemaker of a grandson? He'll be fine. He's just lucky that the knife missed his bones and vital organs. He should be able to leave the hospital in two weeks or less. I probably won't be able to get Luffy to leave his room, so I guess he'll be staying here." Garp reached out and clapped Law on the shoulder, jostling the other man, "I'll have to set some of my boys outside's Ace's room to make sure he doesn't try to sneak out too early." Garp laughed again as he turned and headed for the door, "I'll go let the nurse know that you're up. You should go get some rest at home. It'll probably be quiet without those two grandkids of mine making noise to bother you."

Law sat up in the bed he was lying on as the door closed, and he ran his hands over his face as he sighed. He was exhausted, but he wasn't sure that he had much hope of getting some decent rest with Kidd lurking in the house. Movement from nearby caught Law's attention, and he turned his head slowly. Dammit. Not now. The dark haired doctor settled his gaze on the nearby curtain in the room that separated his bed from another, and saw the outline of a man standing there. From the shape, there was no doubt at all that it was Kidd.

Law pointedly looked away. While the doctor had many things that he wanted to say to Kidd, he wasn't going to acknowledge the red haired ghost at the moment. That Kidd didn't attempt to bother him made Law wonder if Hawkins had been able to do something to the ghost. He hoped that was the case, because he did not want Kidd to try and possess his body again.

-x

Kidd watched Law, and knew from the way that the other man acted that he had seen him standing there. The red haired ghost was disappointed but not at all surprised that Law said nothing to him. Not that Kidd would actually have responded to him anyway. He was still too drained to do anything much but make a faint cold spot. Damn that tarot reading son of a bitch and his magic pieces of paper. Kidd watched Law leave the hospital room, and faded from view as soon as the door was closed.

-x

Law figured that it was best that he had ended up in the hospital where he worked. He'd been able to leave before he'd finished his paperwork, as Monet had offered to fill it in for him, and the dark haired doctor had taken her up on it. Law took a deep breath as he left the hospital. While he was hesitant to return to the house, he didn't really have anywhere else to go. Law was definitely not going to ask Doflamingo if one of his guest rooms was open. That would just allow the older man reason to tease him and the dark haired doctor was simply not in the mood for Doflamingo's games at the moment.

Law crossed the street, and sighed inwardly. Not that it mattered where he stayed, since it seemed that wherever he went, Kidd would always show up. Law reached the house, taking his troubled thoughts with him as he entered the house. Law shut the front door behind him, and paused in the front hall. The dark haired doctor shook his head. He couldn't bring himself to go up to the master bedroom. Kidd seemed more likely to show up there than in any other place in the house. Law turned and went into the living room. What Garp had said was true. He should be able to get some sleep without Luffy and Ace in the house. As long as Kidd didn't come to feel him up in his sleep.

Again.

Law bundled himself up in the comforter that was on the back of the couch as he closed his eyes. The dark haired doctor was so exhausted that he fell straight into a deep sleep. It seemed that he would be able to get that good rest after all. Law didn't even react when Kidd, downtrodden and barely visible, made a few futile attempts to speak to him. The doctor slept on, oblivious to the red haired ghost's attempts to get his attention.

Kidd was frustrated, and he drifted moodily up to the master bedroom, where he sulked. He felt like shit. Like when he'd drank too much and had a massive hangover the following day. The red headed ghost settled on the bed. He didn't think that ghosts were supposed to be feel those kind of sensations. If they were supposed to feel anything at all. Kidd glanced down at the ground. Whatever that long haired, spell toting son a bitch had done to him had left him with little to no energy to interact with the physical world.

And Kidd did not like the loss of control one bit.

-x

Down in the cellar, Trafalgar was growing increasingly concerned for Kidd. If Hawkins happened to come back to the house and hit the red haired ghost with another spell like that, Trafalgar wasn't sure if his lover would be able to survive it and remain in this world. He desperately wanted to get Kidd's attention. To speak to him. To warn him to lay low. But Trafalgar knew that the damage had already been done, and that he would have to find some way to protect his foolish red haired lover from what was likely to follow.

Trafalgar paced back and forth, frowning in thought. There wasn't much that he could do at this point, however. Kidd had been taking in most of the energy to be gleaned from the living in this house. But Trafalgar would find a way. He had to find a way. Even now, he could sense that Kidd's presence, while still overbearing, wasn't nearly as strong as it had been before.

By the time evening rolled around, Trafalgar still hadn't thought of a solution. And he hated for things to be out of hand where he was left with no options. It infuriated him. The dark haired ghost drifted upstairs, and glanced disinterestedly out one of the front door windows. And then did a double take.

There were people approaching the house, and Trafalgar couldn't believe his eyes. One of them resembled Kidd when he'd first met the other man. Trafalgar grinned darkly. He had a start of a plan in mind, and it involved Kidd's doppelganger. He'd seen that the living red head was carrying something out of the van he'd driven up in, and figured that he was going to come inside the house. Trafalgar turned and drifted back to the cellar to wait. He figured that someone would come down there, and hoped that it would be the person that was a slightly younger version of his lover.

Trafalgar trailed a hand along the railing as he went downstairs, a warped smile stretching across his lips. He was going to make a move, and see what would happen. He had grown weary of waiting for Kidd to realize that he was there.

He was sick and tired of all of the interfering done by the living. The distractions and the intrusions of the living into the house that drew Kidd's attention further and further away from him. Dashing his hopes of reuniting with his lover sooner rather than later.

Trafalgar ran a hand along the nearest brick wall of the cellar before he rested his back against it. He had a good view of the stairs from where he waited. The smile was still in place, but Trafalgar's eyes were narrowed and full of restrained resentment and hate. He absolutely despised the living with every passing year, but it seemed that things were finally beginning to move in his favor. Trafalgar could wait a little while longer.

Because with Kidd in a weakened state, the dark haired ghost would be able to draw in more energy that he hadn't been able to before.

And Trafalgar would use that energy to make himself known.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

A/N: Another transitional chapter.

And again, in text, Law is the alive Law, Kidd is ghost!Kidd, Trafalgar is ghost!Law and Eustass will be the alive Kidd.

And yeah, Eustass is going to (unfortunately) be told to go down into the cellar, and of course that's where Trafalgar is hanging out, and he's definitely going to take advantage of it. Because if Kidd can mess around with Law, Trafalgar doesn't see any problem with messing around with Eustass if he shows up in the cellar. Plus he thinks it'll catch Kidd's attention.


	21. Ch 20: Impatient

Law would have liked his uninterrupted sleep to remain that way, but it wasn't to be. The dark haired doctor was drawn from his slumber on the living room couch with a knock on the front door. Law sat up slowly, the comforter sliding down onto his lap as he yawned and stretched, before he frowned. From the looks of it, he'd been asleep for several hours, and it was getting later in the evening. Why would someone show up now? He didn't recall expecting anyone that day.

Law reluctantly left his place on the couch and exited the living room. Another knock sounded on the door, and Law answered it this time. The dark haired doctor stared silently at the people that were standing there, and realized that the only one he recognized was Hawkins. "Yes, what is it?" It was only after he'd spoken that Law realized that the other man that was standing there was likely Marco. The person that Ace had mentioned that he would call earlier that day.

Hawkins didn't seem too off put by Law's questioning expression, nor his apparent confusion, "I told you that help would find its way to you in my shop, didn't I? Did Ace not tell you that he had called an acquaintance?" Hawkins looked past Law, toward the upper floor and added casually, "The spell I used is still in effect, it seems. The spirit shouldn't cause us any problems for the time being."

Law took Marco's offered hand and shook it when the shorter haired man stepped forward, "I did talk to Ace about it, but he didn't mention that you'd be showing up so soon."

Marco nodded, looking abashed, "We would have come after I received Ace's call, but I thought he may have been exaggerating, so I didn't leave right away." Marco let go of Law's hand and stepped back, "Are you all right?"

Law nodded, "I suppose we all got lucky." In that Kidd hadn't managed to get him to murder anyone in the house, and that the dark haired doctor was still in one piece, if exhausted, from the possession.

Marco frowned, "What do you mean?"

"You didn't tell them what happened?" Law turned a inquisitive look Hawkins way.

Hawkins gave a light shrug of his shoulders, "I gave them the details, but not how Ace had been injured."

When he saw Marco glance at him for clarification, Law gestured over his shoulder, "If you want me to tell you about it, and what else has been going on in this house, can we do that in the living room? I'd rather not discuss it outside." Law looked past Hawkins and Marco to the younger pink haired woman dressed in an odd looking, ruffled dress that was there with them, "And who is she?"

"This is Perona. She's a psychic and a medium. She came and offered us her help, as she said that she's been sensing other spirit's unease in the area with this house." Marco answered, and glanced over his shoulder, "I believe that now would be the best time to try and make contact with the ghost. If it isn't at full strength, it shouldn't give you too much trouble." Marco turned his attention back to Law, "And we can talk while she does what she's best at. Is that all right with you?"

"Yes, that's fine." Law didn't particularly care one way or another how many people came into the house. It was more Kidd's house than his anyway. At this point, the doctor was willing to try anything to get Kidd to leave him alone.

"Sabo and the others will want to set their equipment up in the house. They wanted to come along as well. Anything potentially haunted in the area and they want to be there to investigate the claims. They prefer a more...scientific approach to investigating paranormal occurrences." Marco said, with a bit of a faint, laidback smile at the thought.

Law couldn't bring himself to smile in return, since he needed no more confirmation, scientific or otherwise, of the ghostly activities that had been taking place in and out of the house. Most of them had been centered around him anyway. The dark haired doctor stepped back to allow Marco into the house, and led the other man to the living room. Law wasn't sure how useful talking about what had happened to him in the past few months would be useful, but was willing to go along with it, for now.

Perona walked along serenely after them, before she paused and looked around the front entry way. She closed her eyes and let her senses drift, and soon enough, she was able to pinpoint the spirits that resided in the house. She hadn't wanted too much information from Marco before she came into the house, but he had been wrong about there being only one spirit in this house. Perona walked over to the small door that led to the cellar, and rested a hand over it.

The pink haired medium let slip a frown. She could sense a fainter spirit that was down there, but the other spirit that was upstairs was more noticeable with its overbearing presence, despite its currently weakened state. It drew her attention more than the spirit that was downstairs, though she felt she would try to communicate with both of them either way. Perona headed up the stairs, and after a moment's pause, slowly entered the master bedroom and held still. The spirit she was sensing was definitely in there, and whether she would be able to establish communication with it was entirely up to the spirit's willingness to speak to her.

Downstairs, a young blond haired man entered the house, and half turned, carrying a suitcase, "Be careful you don't drop those cameras too, Eustass."

"Shut the fuck up, man. That handheld camera wasn't my fault! That girlfriend of yours tripped me on purpose!" The red haired man growled in return as he shifted his grasp on the camera tripods and the suitcase in his hands, and glowered at the blond, "I don't see why the hell you need all of this shit to go looking for fucking ghosts. They're not even really real. It's all in your head."

A short haired young woman nearly bumped into Eustass as she handed off a hat and a jacket to the blond. She completely ignored the red head behind her cursing, "Here Sabo. You forgot these."

"Ah, thanks, Koala." Sabo took the hat and jammed it on his head, and tossed the jacket over one shoulder, "You have the monitors set up in the van all right?"

Koala made a show of rolling her eyes, "Yes Sabo, I've only done this dozens of times. Don't worry, I'll be able to see everything wherever you decide to set the cameras up."

"Okay, okay, just checking." Sabo turned to Eustass, "Set up an infrared camera downstairs, would you? And take down an EMF reader and a digital voice recorder too, while you're at it."

Eustass scowled at the blond, before he set down a few of the tripods, and shouldered only one of them, "You're damn lucky I don't feel like killing you." The red head growled as he went to fish out a few handheld devices from the suitcase he'd been carrying.

Sabo set down the suitcase that he had been holding and opened it, revealing numerous amounts of sensitive electrical equipment, "And yet you were the one who stupidly tried to attack Dragon. It's really your own fault that you got stuck with us. We're supposed to keep an eye on you, so you don't do something like that again."

"You remember the person that set fire to my house? To my damn car? Remember that at all? What was his name again? Ace, right?" Eustass looked around as he straightened up and moved the tripod higher up onto his shoulder, "Too bad that pyro son of a bitch isn't around. I could've sent him to the hospital instead of the ghost. It's his fault that I'm playing caddy for you ghost hunting idiots in the first place."

Sabo checked one of the hand held camera's batteries, not paying the angry red head much attention, "And how is your situation Ace's fault?"

"I only attacked Dragon because I thought that he was that bastard's father, and I could shake him up for some money to get a new home. And a new ride." Eustass said moodily in response as he stuck the EMF reader and digital recorder in his jacket's pockets.

Sabo shook his head as he continued to sort through the equipment he'd brought in, "Koala, do we have any extra batteries? I'd hate for them to be drained and miss getting something on camera." Without turning, Sabo's hand shot up and caught a small bag that had been thrown through the air at him, "Thanks."

"No problem. I'm going to go back outside now. You boys try not to damage anything, okay?" Koala commented, leaving Sabo to figure out which battery went to which camera.

Eustass watched her go as he let out a snigger, "She's got you whipped, huh?"

Sabo finally looked up at the red head and gave him a dour, unimpressed glare, "No, I just know not to mess with her. She_ is_ a black belt." Sabo smiled at the change of expression on Eustass' face as he watched the young woman leave the house, "Really? But she's so small."

"And deadly. Don't even think about crossing her. She'll lay you out flat on the ground before you know it."

Eustass turned a grin on Sabo, "Speaking from personal experience?"

Sabo began to fiddle with one of the cameras, "No, I just saw her take down some would be muggers a few times. They all underestimated what they'd gotten themselves into." Sabo raised his eyes to meet Eustass', "Weren't you going to go take that stuff downstairs? I'd like to start gathering evidence soon."

Eustass frowned at being dismissed, but decided it wasn't worth it to argue. Besides, if he had, Sabo would have learned that the red haired man had had his ass handed to him by Koala already. Eustass had made the mistake of trying to coerce her into giving him the keys to her car late one night when he'd been fed up with being ordered around. He was taking the fact with him to the grave that someone much shorter and less muscular than him had taken him down so quickly. Eustass had been unable to look Koala in the eyes for weeks after that. Not because he was afraid, but because the red head would've been very tempted to prove himself better. Eustass had ultimately decided that he didn't want to risk being seen by someone else, as he was likely to only be thrown down again by the petite Koala if another attempt was made.

Eustass shook the unpleasant memory from his thoughts as he headed over to the small door to the cellar, and stooped slightly to head down after he'd opened it. Jokingly, the red head spoke as he went down the stairs, "If a ghost jumps me I'm gonna send your ass to the hospital, Sabo, before your girlfriend can stop me."

"Be careful not to drop the camera." Sabo smiled a little at the pointed curse aimed his way, but other than that, paid Eustass no more heed at the moment. However, if the blond had looked up, he would have noticed that the cellar door swung shut soundlessly several minutes after Eustass had been down in the cellar.

-x

Perona closed the door of the master bedroom behind her, and stood in the semi gloom. She could sense the spirit better now, and could tell that for now, it merely seemed to be curious with her presence. As if the spirit wasn't quite sure what to make of her. The longer she stood there without speaking, however, she could sense a change in the spirit's mood. It had gone to being suspicious, as well as distrustful and uneasy. Perona spoke calmly, not wanting to agitate it, "I can tell that you know that you are dead. Why do you still remain in this world? Why do you bother the living, and try to cause harm to others?"

Perona could feel herself being stared at, before she heard a ghostly whisper of air that accompanied the spirit's response. The response made her wary, and Perona waited a moment before she spoke again, "Who are you looking for, Eustass Kidd?" Perona could feel surprise from the spirit, but she'd already known as much. The pink haired medium was honestly shocked when she received a response. It gave her an idea of what Law had been through, at the very least, "The person you are looking for isn't in that man. You can't continue to torment him in the hopes that the person you're searching for will appear. Because he isn't there, Eustass. The Trafalgar Law that you're looking for has never been in him, and never will be."

Perona felt the room's temperature drop several degrees, and could sense Kidd's rising anger at being told the person he was trying to find wasn't where he thought he was all this time. Perona continued on, "You've been blinding yourself to the truth that's been around you. You've been blocking out the very person you've been searching for." Perona fell silent immediately when she felt Kidd gather up some energy, and started a little at the fact that the spirit managed to make himself audible to the human ear. Rough, furious denial laced his words.

"Shut the fuck up! You're lying! He's in there somewhere, and I'm going to find him! Don't interfere!"

Perona backed away slowly, and exited the room when some of the items on the nearby dresser were violently knocked off and thrown across the room, "Calm down. You're only wasting your energy. I will leave you, for now, but I wish to speak to you again later." Perona left the room entirely, and closed the door. She heard a scream of utter rage echo from within, but it was only her that heard it, as Kidd had used up the energy he'd gathered to say his previous words, and knock the items around.

Perona thought she ought to let the others know what little she'd learned. She had an idea forming in her mind of what was going on in the house, and was fairly certain of who the other spirit in the house was. Perona was left to ponder why Kidd didn't seem to notice the other spirit's presence. The house was obviously the red haired spirit's originally, so he should have been able to sense everything that was going on in his own home. But for some reason, Kidd was so fixated on Law that he didn't seem to realize that the person he was so desperately trying to find was already there, waiting for him.

The pink haired medium headed for the stairs. Perona felt that she had to mention to Eustass to stay away from the other spirit in the basement, since he resembled Kidd so much. Perona reached the bottom of the stairs and spotted Sabo setting up some of his equipment. She turned her head one way, and then the other, "Where is Eustass?"

Sabo glanced up, "Oh, hi Perona. Done communing with the spirit already?"

Perona gave Sabo a superior look, "Not yet. The spirit got a little overemotional, so I'll have to go back and speak to him later, once he's calmed down and in a somewhat reasonable mood." Perona fixed her gaze on Sabo, and repeated her previous question, "Where is Eustass?"

Sabo didn't question the medium this time as he responded, "I had him go downstairs to set up some of the equipment. Why?"

"Get him back up here, now." Perona's voice was clipped, worried.

"What's the problem?" Sabo wondered, and he stiffened as Perona was suddenly right up in front of him, all but glowering at him.

"Because the spirit upstairs looks like him, and the spirit downstairs is the one that he is looking for."

Sabo stared at the medium for a moment, before he realized what she was hinting at. The blond crossed out of the living room and to the closed cellar door. Sabo reached out to open it, but found that it was stuck fast. "What the...?" Sabo jiggled the door handle, but still couldn't get the door to open. "There's not a lock..." He mumbled, tugging at the door with more force.

It didn't budge.

Perona came up beside Sabo and reached out to lay a hand on the door. She held it there for a moment, before her eyes widened, and she whirled to face Sabo, "Get Hawkins. Now." As the blond went off to do as asked, the pink haired medium ran her hand over the cellar door again.

It seemed that she'd come back downstairs too late to give Eustass the warning, and Perona silently apologized for not getting there sooner. The energy holding the door closed was extremely malevolent, and the aura of the energy only seemed to grow with every passing moment.

-x

Eustass set up the equipment down in the cellar quietly, still sulking a little after being basically ordered to do it by Sabo. Eustass turned the camera so that the view would cover most of the cellar. The red haired man shook his head as he turned on the EMF reader and held it up. No matter how much he disliked Sabo, the blond idiot was right that he had basically gotten himself into this mess on his own. That didn't mean that he liked his situation any more than if it hadn't been his fault.

Eustass placed the EMF reader and digital recorder on a shelf in the storage area. Eustass felt a cool breeze briefly pass him, and held back a shiver at the sudden drop in temperature that followed. Eustass narrowed his eyes as he double checked the infrared camera. While he didn't believe in the paranormal, that didn't mean that he was not going to entertain the possibility of it. The cold that he was feeling right now certainly didn't seem to be natural, even if the cellar was underground. The red haired man glanced at a handheld temperature gauge in his left hand, and saw the temperature was steadily dropping from where it'd been earlier. It had been at 68 degrees, but it had dropped down to 60, and was steadily falling further.

Eustass turned toward the stairs as he pocketed the temperature gauge. He wasn't about to stay and see if bullshit poltergeist or ghostly phenomena was going to happen to him. Although, if it did, it would give him an excuse to follow through on the threat he'd made to Sabo. Unfortunately for Eustass, the ghost in the cellar had had it's eyes locked onto him ever since he'd come down there, and it wasn't about to let him walk away so easily.

-x

Trafalgar had had to restrain himself from immediately leaping at the red haired man as soon as he set eyes on him. The dark haired ghost had watched Eustass set up the equipment he'd brought down with him, and had taken the time to admire the other with a hungry gaze as he gave the red head a once over. While Trafalgar had originally only intended to scare the other a little, he decided that he needed a way to let out some pent up aggression over Kidd being an oblivious idiot.

Trafalgar began to walk toward Eustass when it seemed that the other man was nearly finished with whatever it was that he was doing. The dark haired ghost smirked that it was only when he got almost got right up next to him that Eustass finally noticed his presence. Trafalgar almost laughed at the way the red haired man abruptly turned and headed for the stairs. The ghostly doctor's smile widened. He'd made up his mind with what he was going to do now, and he wasn't going to let Eustass leave so quickly. Trafalgar reached out and wrapped a hand around the red head's nearest wrist. The dark haired ghost loved the startled reaction that he received. It must be disconcerting for someone unseen to grab someone else. Trafalgar tugged at the wrist that he held in his cold grasp, and used the small amount of energy that he drew from Eustass in that moment to forcefully drag the other man away from the stairs.

Trafalgar waved his free hand at the door at the top of the stairs, and closed it without too much trouble. His actions drew an interesting sound from Eustass, who backed away toward one corner of the cellar after freeing himself of the ghost's touch. The sight Trafalgar was presented with reminded him of when he and Kidd had first gotten together. Kidd had seemed so confident when he'd met him, so arrogant and rude, that the sudden vulnerable side Kidd had shown him was so very fascinating to his potential lover. The nervous air hadn't lasted for very long when it became clear to the red haired man just how sick in the mind the doctor really was. Trafalgar had been able to be himself for the first time around someone else, and that first night with Kidd had been the most fun they'd both likely had in a very long time.

They had both had problems with being too extreme for their previous lovers.

The dark haired ghost reached out a hand toward Eustass teasingly, and laughed as the motion made the red head back away from him more quickly. It made Trafalgar think that the other man had perhaps been able to see him. Or at the very least sense that he was there. The expression of surprise that had crossed Eustass' face sure made the ghost think that it was one of the two things. Trafalgar smiled again. He was going to use this chance to draw out more energy from Kidd's doppelganger. And while he did that, he was going to muse about what he'd do with Kidd once he got his hands on his wayward lover. Even if he had had quite a lot of time already to think about such things.

Trafalgar edged even closer, backing Eustass into the storage area of the cellar. Which was just where the other wanted him to be. Trapped with nowhere to run. The dark haired ghost knew that he had more experience taking energy away from his surroundings and the living than Kidd did. And how to use that energy. With the red haired ghost's power lower at the moment, it made it all the more easy. With a few more steps, Trafalgar had Eustass trapped against the wall, and he was able to close the distance that had been between them.

Within a few moments, Eustass was overwhelmed by the prolonged exposure to Trafalgar's icy cold presence. The sensation of having his energy sapped from him made Eustass sway in place dazedly, until he was forced to sit down on the ground when his feet could no longer support him. The red head was shaking slightly and unable to do much else other than to let out a faint sound of utter confusion. What was going on?

Trafalgar half turned and his eyes were drawn up to the lights in the cellar. With a slight effort on his part, Trafalgar sapped the energy out of those lights and plunged the area into complete darkness. Not that it bothered him overly much, as he was quite used to it after being in the shadows for over one hundred years. He could see perfectly well with or without light. Trafalgar didn't want Eustass to get a very good look at him, but had wanted to be seen just enough to have Kidd overhear talk of another ghost in the house. Maybe that would get his attention.

The dark haired ghost crouched before Eustass, his mind swirling with different possibilities with what he was going to do with the man before him. While Trafalgar didn't particularly want to be zeroed in by the strangers that were currently in the house, he really couldn't resist the opportunity that had presented itself to him.

Trafalgar blamed his lover's lack of attention for what he did next. Not that he regretted it one bit, as twisted as he was to begin with. No, it was fun to him, and he was just disappointed that it wasn't his Kidd that he had cornered.

But he would make do with what he had.


	22. Ch 21: An Icy Touch

If he had still had the need to breathe, Trafalgar knew that his breath would have been coming out more rapidly as he slid between Eustass' legs. His heart would have started to race as well, but since he was dead, that wasn't a problem for him to worry about. It would allow him to focus on the man before him, and let Trafalgar have a little fun of his own, lonely as he was with his idiot Kidd being oblivious of him.

Eustass didn't seem to appreciate his cold presence, but Trafalgar didn't particularly care how the red haired man felt about him and the situation he suddenly found himself in. The dark haired ghost was going to do as he wished, and it was the other man's fault for coming down into the cellar on his own. It was far too tempting for Trafalgar to resist, as he was longing for his lover's touch and attentions, as he had been without them for far too long. Trafalgar shoved Eustass' legs apart to make room for himself as he settled down on his knees and let his hands rest on the other man's shoulders. The dark haired ghost leaned back for a moment to appreciate the other man's outfit, and thought that his lover would have looked quite flattering in the jacket that the doppelganger of him was wearing. Trafalgar was a little surprised that Eustass had found something that fit his broad shoulders that allowed for the jacket to be zipped up. Trafalgar was far more used to seeing Kidd bare chested, or with the clothing undone in the front.

Trafalgar caught sight of the bandana or scarf that held the red head's hair back and out of his face, and decided that he didn't like it. The goggles were definitely better. With what Eustass was wearing now made him look like a thug. Trafalgar smirked a little as he reached up with one of his hands and tugged it off with a short burst of energy. Not that his lover didn't look like one when he was having a bad day and not particularly caring about his appearance. Trafalgar moved a little closer, so that he pressed up against Eustass' chest, and his smirk widened when he heard the red head make a disgruntled sound of protest. Trafalgar ran the same hand he'd used to tug the bandana off through the unruly red hair, ignoring the shiver that passed through the man he had trapped against the wall. Trafalgar inched back a bit with a quick glance, and decided that the small change made the doppelganger of his lover look much better. The dark haired ghost did love the tossled, scruffy look.

Trafalgar leaned forward again and rested his upper body more snugly against Eustass' chest, his hands sliding down from the other's shoulder and hair. He ran them both down along Eustass' chest, and the dark haired ghost absently continued to drain the living man's energy for his own. Trafalgar slipped one of his hands up beneath the shirt that Eustass wore beneath the black jacket, and used his other hand to tug the zipper of the jacket down slowly. It didn't take that much energy to accomplish, and soon enough, he had it unzipped all the way, giving himself better access to the shirt beneath.

The dark haired ghost's actions drew forth a shuddering gasp from Eustass, and had the red head had the strength to do so, he would have tried to escape from whatever was touching him. The touch was light and sensual, and cold as fuck. Eustass bit his lip and tried to wiggle away from the frigid coldness that was settled over him, but found that whatever was there merely held him against the wall more heavily, and the cold feeling grew. Eustass bit back what would have been a whimper, and despite how miserable he was feeling, he started to get angry. Who the fuck was messing with him? Since when were ghosts able to touch the living?

Trafalgar smirked at the desperation that he could begin to sense from the other man. The dark haired ghost tilted his head to rest it against Eustass' shoulder, and leaned his body forward, so that he could run his lips along the red haired man's throat. Trafalgar could tell that Eustass was fighting to remain quite, and it made him smile against he skin as he began to lay little bites here and there. He could play that game with this doppelganger. Trafalgar loved to break though his lover's tough exterior to the point that it left the other man lying in a hot, sweaty mess of whimpers and moans and whines while he hoarsely begged him for more.

The dark haired ghost reached up and ran a hand lightly along Eustass' jawline, across from where he was putting light nips and kisses, and trailed the hand across his cheek, to where it went up to tangle into the messy red hair again. With a light squeeze of his hand, Trafalgar tilted Eustass' head to the side, drawing forth a weak sound of protest. Trafalgar ignored it as he brought his lips to Eustass' jugular and laid a light bite there. The dark haired ghost was turned on by how quickly Eustass' pulse was racing beneath his mouth, and fisted his hand in Eustass' hair to keep the other man from jerking his head away from the bite. Trafalgar let the pressure of the bite increase, and when he received a faint whimper of confusion, he released it, and kissed the mark he'd made.

The dark haired ghost shifted so that he could be even closer, as he let the hand in Eustass' hair relax, and ran it along through the surprisingly soft hair in a soothing gesture. Trafalgar knew that any sexual desire that he currently felt was merely within his mind, but the ghost liked it all the same. He enjoyed remembering the sensations that they brought to him. And he wasn't anywhere near done with Eustass. He wanted to break the other man, if only to make it a prelude to what he would have fun doing with his lover when they finally reunited. Trafalgar drew away from Eustass' throat, and bumped his head lightly against the side of the red head's, the ghostly doctor using the hand still tangled in Eustass' hair to hold him there.

Trafalgar's lips brushed against Eustass' ear as he whispered to the red haired man, "It's too bad that you aren't the Eustass-ya that I know. If you were, I would fuck you senseless until you begged me to stop. Or to keep going, depending on his mood." Trafalgar let his hand slide up beneath Eustass' shirt further, causing a more powerful shudder. Trafalgar laid a quick kiss on Eustass' nearest cheek, and whispered against the skin, "But that doesn't mean that I'm not going to enjoy myself." Trafalgar flicked one of his fingers against Eustass' chest, drawing forth a jump from the other man, "Be a good boy and behave. If you try to run, I'll be forced to stop you." Trafalgar kissed his way down along Eustass' jawline, and mouthed against the side of the red head's throat, thinking to leave another mark there. Trafalgar stopped, however, because he hadn't realized that he'd drawn enough energy from Eustass that he had made himself audible to the other man.

"What the fuck! Get away from me, you son of a bitch! I swear I'm going to kill that blond ghost hunting bastard! He never mentioned that ghosts would ever do _this_."

Trafalgar paused what he was doing for only a brief instance, before he resumed exploring Eustass' chest, and pinched down. The ghostly doctor laughed softly when his action drew out a startled yelp, "So you can hear me?"

"Yes, I can fucking hear you, and I really wish I didn't. I don't believe in all that ghost and life after death bullshit! Leave me the fuck alone!" Eustass futilely attempted to shove the ghost, a freaking ghost, which shouldn't even exist, away from him. However, it only sapped his energy further trying to force the cold presence away from himself. The slight effort drained him, and Eustass was left panting from the effort, resting heavily against the brick wall behind him.

Trafalgar withdrew his hand from beneath Eustass' shirt, or rather, let his hand phase through the shirt, because he could. Trafalgar let himself rest more heavily against the other man once more as he let his hands trail down to the other man's waist. When his hands began to swiftly undo the other's belt, Eustass bit his lip and tried to edge away. Trafalgar almost laughed at the useless gesture, and continued with his current focus. At this point, he was draining more and more of Eustass' energy, and was having a much easier time interacting with the physical world. Subsequently, the effort of having his energy leeched off of him made it harder for Eustass to speak, so when Trafalgar got his belt off and pants tugged down slightly, the only sound the red head could make was a faint distressed whine of discomfort. And Trafalgar loved the sound. He found it cute, oddly enough, as he slipped one of his hands down Eustass' boxers. He absently wrapped his hand around the other's member and dragged his hand slowly along it.

The dark haired ghost smiled wryly as he let his head rest on Eustass' shoulder again, his voice distant as he reminisced, "I'm kind of disappointed that you aren't my lover. It feels like you're the same size he was." Trafalgar's tongue darted out along Eustass' throat, "I think I want to play with you a little longer than I thought. I want to see if you come undone like he does when I tease him." The dark haired ghost breathed against the skin, "I want to break you." The terrified whine that issued from the other man made Trafalgar squeeze his hand and speed up his tempo on the other's man's cock, getting more excited with every passing moment. Even though he knew that the red haired man he was playing with wasn't _his_ Eustass.

Trafalgar brought his free hand up to tug up Eustass' shirt. The dark haired ghost slid down along Eustass' body, until his head was level with the red head's chest. Trafalgar began to trail kisses along the other's chest, occasionally biting down and teasing the red head's nipples. That drew out a delicious sounding moan of half protest and half pleasure, though Trafalgar supposed that it could also have been from the hand job he was giving him. Trafalgar was concentrating most of the energy he'd gained into making that hand not as cold as the rest of him, so that he'd have an easier time tormenting the red head. Though the dark haired ghost was starting to let himself imagine that it was actually his lover he was doing this to.

Trafalgar drew back from Eustass' chest, and wrapped his arm around the other's neck and shoulders. The ghostly doctor wasn't thinking much about the fact that he was drawing out so much energy from Eustass that the red head couldn't do much in protest other than to take what he was being given.

Trafalgar slid his hand along Eustass' length at a quicker pace, and could tell that the red haired man was getting close. Trafalgar used the arm around Eustass' shoulders to turn the man's head toward him. The hand threaded through Eustass' hair again, and Trafalgar tensed both the arm and hand to prevent Eustass from jerking his head away from the cold breath he no doubt felt spilling across his face. Just as Trafalgar felt the red head about to come, the hand wrapped around Eustass' member dipped down and squeezed, holding it back, and drawing forth a thin groan of protest. The gasp that followed made Trafalgar smile as he brought his face closer to Eustass', "Do you want me to let you come, or did you want me to leave you alone?"

"Fuck...you, you son...of a bitch." Eustass gasped out, unable to stop himself from shivering as the ghost's presence only seemed to make the air grow colder. Eustass twitched when one of the ghost's finger's gripping his member flicked up against the tip of him. Shit, why the fuck was this happening to him? Another rough movement, and Eustass' head dropped back against the wall as his mind latched onto the other's words. Teeth chattering together, Eustass managed to force out a few words, "S...Stop...leave me...alone."

Trafalgar's expression darkened. It wasn't the answer that he wanted. He wanted this doppelganger bastard to beg. Beg like he probably never had in his whole damn life. Wanted to break him down. Force it out of him. Trafalgar turned his head slightly and bit the side of Eustass' neck, and growled against the skin, "Don't waste my time." Trafalgar roughly ran his hand along the red head's arousal, driving him toward release again, and was sadistically pleased at the faint cry from Eustass. Trafalgar squeezed his hand down again to prevent the red head from being able to come, and let up on the bite as he spoke warningly, "I can keep doing this and not let you come at all." The dark haired ghost heard a faint exhalation leave the other man, and smirked when he felt Eustass' hips jerk slightly, before the red head finally broke down at the prospect of being continually tormented like this.

"Dammit...just let me...please...I can't..." Eustass trailed off, letting out a faint groan as he felt even more energy sapped from him. He was unaware of the effect his begging had had on the ghost. But he was more concerned that he had actually begged a damn ghost to keep giving him a hand job. What the hell was wrong with him?

Trafalgar made a few more pumps of the other man's cock with his hand before Eustass came with a faint, relieved whimper, and went limp, sagging back against the wall. Trafalgar drew his hand back and glanced at it. It figured that there was nothing there since he didn't technically exist in the same plane of existence as Eustass. The dark haired ghost could tell that Eustass was at his limit with being sapped of his energy, and was in danger of passing out. Perhaps he would leave it at that, for now, and let the red haired man retreat with his tail between his legs.

But what he hadn't expected was for Eustass to have enough left in him to retaliate.

Trafalgar felt something punch through his manifestation of himself, and glanced down. A dagger had been driven through his chest with surprising accuracy. Trafalgar lifted his gaze to meet Eustass' exhausted one, despite the red head not being able to see him in the dark. Trafalgar figured that Eustass must have had the blade tucked beneath his jacket, out of view, and had jabbed it at him with surprising accuracy. Had the ghostly doctor been alive, the blade would have gone between his ribs and dangerously close to his heart. Trafalgar had to appreciate the aim that Eustass had made in complete darkness, and smiled in a twisted way. It turned him on even more when he knew that Eustass, from the way his hand currently shook around the dagger he held, that it must feel like he'd punched his hand straight into frigid water.

It never ceased to amuse Trafalgar at how the living responded to the unknown.

The dark haired ghost quickly took advantage of Eustass' momentary paralysis to shove the man roughly to one side, where Eustass ended up flat on his back. It wasn't that hard for Trafalgar to accomplish, considering how weak and shaky Eustass currently was. Trafalgar crawled onto the red head to keep him pinned to the ground with his cold presence, and leaned over to lock lips with him. While it wasn't his lover, Trafalgar felt that he wanted to do it. Even though he hadn't been harmed by the dagger, it had turned him on to be attacked in such a manner. The way Eustass made a faint disgusted sound of protest was far too endearing for some reason, and the ghost could only imagine what it must be like to have something unseen touching you.

Keeping the red haired man locked in the kiss, Trafalgar slipped some tongue in, and assailed the inside of Eustass' mouth with practiced ease. Trafalgar's hands slid along through Eustass' hair on either side of his head to keep him in place, and smiled into the kiss as the other man squirmed beneath him. Trafalgar used some of the energy he'd taken from Eustass to reach over and wrap one hand around the red head's that was still loosely clutching the dagger. Trafalgar kept the pressure around Eustass' hand and forced the other man to keep a hold of it in his weakening grasp.

Trafalgar drew back from the kiss and licked Eustass' lips, before he murmured against them, "It isn't fair that you look so much like him. It's like I'm seeing him for the first time again, back when he was younger and unscarred." Trafalgar kissed the side of Eustass' lips, "I think I'm going to change that. I made some of the scars before, and I think I want to...relive that." Trafalgar sealed his lips over Eustass' again before the red head could utter a word of protest. The dark haired ghost smiled into the kiss, when he realized that Eustass had shuddered at the contact.

Trafalgar peeked out of the corner of his eye, before he directed Eustass' hand up to the left side of the red head's face. He held it just against the skin, near the inside of the left eye near his forehead, "Hold still and keep your eye closed." Trafalgar murmured into the kiss, his voice light and teasing, "You don't want to lose it, do you?" That said, the ghost forced his way into the red head's mouth to ravish the inside of it again. Trafalgar couldn't help but feel a little cheated in the fact that this wasn't his lover. But the resemblances were uncanny, especially in the way that Eustass started to try to fight back against what he had planned. Trafalgar settled the blade's tip more heavily against the skin. Eustass was far too weakened to put up much of a fight, and it merely excited Trafalgar more that he was going to make the other man bleed.

The dark haired ghost directed Eustass' dagger down slowly, making the cut. Trafalgar ignored the intake of air that was a gasp of pain, as he merely adjusted slightly so that he kept his moth sealed over Eustass' to prevent the cries from being more audible. He didn't want anyone to hear the red head. Not until the ghostly doctor was finished with him and wanted one of the other people in the hose to come find him.

Trafalgar repeated the gesture on the other side of the eye, not having to exert much energy to force Eustass' hand along, despite the continued pressure of the red head struggling to stop him. With careful precision, the dark haired ghost cut a faint line down the right side, missing the eye by not much. Trafalgar's gaze locked onto the sight of the blood welling up from the wounds, and noted that Eustass had squeezed his eyes shut, desperately trying not to make a sound. Though he'd only have made it easier for Trafagar to continue with the kiss. When Trafalgar angled the blade to go down the side of Eustass' throat, he felt Eustass whimper into the kiss, and the dark haired ghost decided to relent. He didn't want to drain Eustass entirely of his energy, since he needed him to be able to crawl off and let the others, and Kidd, know that there was something else in the house.

"Almost done. I know what I'm doing, I'm a doctor." Trafalgar muttered as he broke the kiss, "Or used to be. Guess I started to cut up one too many bodies instead of piecing them back together to save them." The dark haired ghost drew Eustass' hand over to the left side of his throat, "Don't move. You don't want me to accidently cut too deeply and open up an artery, do you?" He felt the red head's hand tremble slightly, and Trafalgar nuzzled his head beneath Eustass's chin, keeping an eye on the hand he had wrapped tightly around Eustass' hand, "Do you want me to stop?" Trafalgar felt Eustass' jaw tense, and the ghost laughed, "If you don't tell me, I won't know, will I?" The dark haired ghost felt that he was having far too much fun with tormenting Eustass, and hoped that the other realized he was merely being sarcastic. Trafalgar was going to finish what he started, no matter what the red head might try to say.

If he could say anything at all at this point.

Eustass' hand twitched again within Trafalgar's grasp, but he was just too exhausted, and hurting from the newly made facial wounds, to form a sentence. He could only let out an exhalation of breath, and sincerely hoped the ghost was done with him already. Eustass wanted to deny that this was happening to him, but it was kind of hard to do that when he was wide awake. Not to mention he couldn't see a damn thing with the lights out, but he sure as hell could feel what felt like a body pinning him down to the ground. Among other things that the unseen being had done to him. Eustass had been sure that his dick was going to freeze off when the ghost had touched him, but apparently his body had decided to go along with the bizarre situation. Eustass felt the tip of the dagger against his throat, and he froze as he heard the ghost speak to him, in that same smooth, silky voice laced with restrained lust and desire. It was fucking creepy as hell that Eustass found himself turned on by the tone of that voice.

"No complaints? Then I'll just keep going then."

Eustass set his jaw as he tired to pull against the hold on his wrist, to bring the sharp blade away from his throat. What the hell had he had to get the damn thing sharpened earlier that week? Though the red head knew that he would have had no idea that he was going to be assaulted by a horny ghost that seemed to think he looked like somebody he knew. That shit only happened in books and movies, and it had no business being in his life. Eustass felt the pressure of the dagger against his throat again, and the stinging poke of the blade cutting into his skin. Eustass' hand twitched as the pain continued while the dagger slowly began to make it's way through the flesh of the side of his neck, and he jerked his head away, hissing in pain when the blade cut a little deeper in response. The red head twitched a little when he heard what sounded like a sigh, before he felt his skin crawl as an unseen hand fisted into his hair and held his head down and to the side, giving the ghost better access to his neck. Eustass still couldn't find his voice, and ended up settling for faint grunts of pain as he felt the hand guide his own along the side of his neck, and soon he could feel a trickle of blood make its way down the side of his neck, to his shoulder.

Trafalgar was entertained with the faint resistance, and just as he started to make a cut along Eustass' collarbone, he was partially distracted by the sound of rapid footsteps, and a sharp voice. The next thing Trafalgar knew, there was a burning sensation between his shoulder blades, and the heat rapidly grew in intensity, until it was a searing burn that cut deeply into his manifested self. Immense pain followed soon after, and the agony of it was so intense that it made the dark haired ghost feel as if he were dying all over again.

Trafalgar grit his teeth against the pain, but knew that in that moment he couldn't linger. He wasn't a fool. He knew when he was being attacked. With a slight effort on his part, the ghostly doctor threw himself to one side, and away from Eustass. Trafalgar winced as the pain seared throughout his body, but forced himself to keep on going. He heard someone speaking. It was Hawkins. The spell caster. And the long haired man was obviously trying to finish what he started. But the dark haired ghost had been given enough warning with the first attack that it gave him enough time to retreat. Trafalgar veiled his presence and phased through the wall of the cellar, and into the hidden room.

Once he was out of immediate danger, Trafalgar was struck by just how much pain he was in, and just how much it burned. It shouldn't have been possible for anyone to harm someone in such a way, especially if they were already dead and had no physical body. Remaining upright and manifested appeared to be too much of a drain on his energy, so Trafalgar drifted over to one corner of the room, to where there was a mattress. Trafalgar rested on it and held still as the agony seared from his back, and spiraled out to the rest of his body. It was so painful that the dark haired ghost soon couldn't stand it, and tried to feel his back where the pain was emanating from. To make it stop. Trafalgar dropped his hand at once as merely touching the area made the pain flare up and lance throughout his body again, driving him to lay perfectly still.

Trafalgar vaguely heard Eustass being taken upstairs by the spell caster, after what sounded like Hawkins had given up trying to figure out where he'd gone. Trafalgar let out a wheeze of laughter at how stupid it had been of him to force himself on Eustass for so long. He'd been so distracted that he'd forgotten that there was someone in the house that could cause him lasting harm. The laughter trickled down into a self deprecating, faint chuckle until Trafalgar finally fell silent.

It was only when Eustass had gone back upstairs with Hawkins did Trafalgar feel that the spell Hawkins had used on him begin to dissipate. It couldn't come soon enough. Trafalgar let out a relieved, airless sigh of relief as the pain left him soon after, leaving behind only an exhaustion that he was all too familiar with. All of the energy that Trafalgar had gathered from Eustass was now gone, as he had used it to combat the spell's effect on him.

Trafalgar lay there in the darkness, and supposed that it was good that he had taken more energy in than he had originally intended to, as it appeared as though Hawkins had been trying to banish him from this plane of existence. And the spell caster had almost succeeded. Trafalgar had had to use nearly all of the energy he had gathered in order to fend off the worst of the spell's effect, and he was left with a pathetically minuscule amount of energy, and with it, he wouldn't be able to do much more than drift around aimlessly, unseen.

Trafalgar closed his eyes in the darkness of the hidden room. His lips curved into a smirk. This certainly was a setback for trying to catch Kidd's attention. Both he and his lover were now at dangerously low power levels, due to that damn Hawkins and his spells.

Thoughts of revenge filled Trafalgar's thoughts as he waited to recover as much as he could from the unexpected strike. The dark haired ghost knew that he would have to eventually go check on things going on in the rest of the house, as well as see how Kidd was doing. But not right now. He needed to at least wait until he had regained enough energy that it didn't feel as if he were going to fade away and never return.

Trafalgar knew that he shouldn't have done what he had so soon, and especially not when there were people in the house that could fight back. But the dark haired ghost's patience was at an end. Trafalgar would have to hope that Eustass mentioned him in a way that would catch Kidd's attention. Trafalgar opened his eyes briefly, and an empty look filled them as he stared at nothing in particular, and murmured softly, "Eustass-ya..."

He couldn't wait for much longer.

-x

Eustass waved off Hawkins help up the stairs as he hastily tugged his pants up and secured the belt around his waist. His dagger was already tucked back beneath his jacket, but the red head hadn't bothered to zip his jacket up yet. Eustass was still trying to come to terms with what had happened down in the cellar. He exited the door, and paused in the front hall as Hawkins addressed him.

"Are you all right?"

The red haired male turned and fixed a one eyed glare on the other, "Do I fucking look like I'm all right? A damn ghost just assaulted me and cut my face!" He kept his left eye shut for the time being, as blood had dripped down over it, and had started to congeal there. He didn't want to wipe it away, because he was likely to cause the cut above his eye to continue to bleed.

"Hawkins? What happened?"

Eustass seized up a little at the voice. No, the son of a bitch was downstairs. He couldn't be right there. The voice was different, barely, as it wasn't as confident and condescending as the ghost had been speaking to him down in the cellar. But it resembled that bastard's voice enough that Eustass would never fail to recognize it if he heard the ghost again. There was a sharp intake of breath as the red haired man turned his head slowly, and spotted Law standing just outside the living room doorway and looking between the two men in the front hall. Eustass' eye widened at the sight of the dark haired man. The clothes were different, but other than that, it looked exactly like the ghost that had been down in the cellar. The one that had assaulted him and made him feel like absolute and utter shit. While still shaky on his feet, Eustass felt renewed strength surge through him, enough to get him to move. Eustass brushed Hawkins' hand off his shoulder as he rapidly closed the distance between himself and Law, and grinned nastily at the fact that the dark haired man backed away into the living room, looking horrified to see him.

That was fine with Eustass. The damn bastard had better be nervous about coming face to face with him. Eustass was able to fight back now that he wasn't drenched in an unnatural cold like he had been down in the cellar. The red head trapped Law against the far wall of the living room, and pointedly ignored Marco speaking to him as his right hand shot out and wrapped around Law's throat. Eustass' grin deepened as he shoved the other man more heavily against the wall. Good. He could grab the son of a bitch this time.

"Kidd! What the hell are you doing? Stop!"

Eustass turned his head to glare at Marco, who was trying to pry his hand off of Law, "Back the fuck off! He attacked me first!" And Eustass wasn't going to let someone get away with that.

"Law has been up here with me since before you came into this house." Marco said, squeezing his own hand around Eustass' wrist, "Let go of him, now."

"You're choking him." Hawkins commented, "A ghost has no need to breathe."

Eustass' head whipped back to Law to see if what the long haired man said was true, and realized that yes, the other man was gasping for breath. Eustass let go of the doctor abruptly, and stepped away, "What the hell? Then who was down in the cellar with me?" Fuck, it was a ghost after all, wasn't it? Eustass wasn't so sure he could handle this right now. He couldn't exactly punch the ghost in the face, since trying to stab it in the chest had yielded poor results.

"It was the other spirit that resides in this house. It is the spirit of a man that the spirit upstairs has been searching for."

Everyone present turned to look at the speaker, while Law sunk down in the nearest chair to massage his throat.

Perona stepped into the living room, and calmly looked between Law and Eustass, "The two of you are being targeted by these spirits because both of you look exactly like them."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

A/N: Um, yeah. Stuff happens and Trafalgar is not happy that he's still being more or less ignored. That'll change very soon.

And help, I'm far too entertained by writing this fanfic. It just keeps getting longer and longer and more messed up as I work toward the last chapter. It's going to start to slowly turn into a kind of psychological/serial killer/thriller/horror ghost...thing. And I'm way too happy writing the darker stuff. What the hell...hmm...maybe it has to do with the fact that I've been watching horror movies like Saw and The Grudge lately.

And ffn is annoying me with it disappearing letters on words randomly, but I think I caught them all this time around.


	23. Ch 22: Found

"What?" Law hadn't expected that, but it did make sense with the way that Kidd had been hounding him. Certain that Law was someone he wasn't, and then thinking that that person the red headed ghost wanted to see was somewhere inside him. But the dark haired doctor hadn't thought that there was another ghost in the house. He'd never seen it, but at this point Law wasn't surprised.

Perona patiently turned her attention from Law to Eustass, "The spirit that you saw down in the cellar looked like Law, didn't it? That's why you attacked him when you saw him just now."

Eustass nodded, though he couldn't help but still eye Law suspiciously. It was hard not to see the ghost in the other man, but he could tell that he wasn't the same person now. The immediate threat gone, Eustass instead brought his hand up to the wounds on his face, and grumbled something under his breath.

"Law, do you have any first aid kits in this house? You are a doctor, and I think those injuries should be seen to. I don't believe that he's going to try to attack you again." Hawkins glanced at Eustass, "Are you?"

"He's not the son of a bitch that did this to me, so no." Eustass said grumpily, and settled down on the nearest chair, while Law went off to go locate the first aid kit he kept in the house with him.

Perona waited until Law had returned and started to treat Eustass' wounds before she began to speak again, "The spirit that is currently upstairs is a hateful presence that is going to be hard to try and remove. At this point I'm not even sure if we would be able to force it to leave." Perona briefly looked at Eustass as she added, "The spirit that is downstairs has to be the one that the other spirit has been looking for. The one that attacked Eustass." Perona wrung her hands as she looked away from Eustass looking up at her, "I apologize that I hadn't recognized the connection earlier. I would have warned you to stay away from the cellar. I had sensed a surge of power, but I thought that it had been Hawkins' doing."

"I did use a spell, just after the spirit had been acting up." Hawkins frowned in thought, "It shouldn't cause us any trouble for at least a day. It needs time to recover."

"I found it odd that the spirit upstairs hasn't noticed the one that is in the basement. From what happened to Eustass, it is no doubt that the two spirits know one another." Perona quietly watched Law treating the facial wounds to Eustass' face for a moment, "Perhaps it is because the spirit has been distracted by you, Law." Perona turned and left the living room, and stopped next to the door to the cellar, where she laid a hand against the door, silent. Then, in a slightly raised voice to be audible to the others, she spoke again, "The spirit that is down there is even nastier than the other one, from what I can sense from the faint presence there. It almost feels as though the spirit is fed up with the living, and has no qualms about causing harm the living. The only one it doesn't seem to be as hostile to is the spirit that is upstairs."

"If I'm supposed to look like the ghost upstairs, that sure doesn't seem like it." Eustass muttered, breaking off to hiss in pain as Law dabbed disinfectant carefully along the injuries.

"Maybe it's like the ghost that has been bothering me. That it enjoys causing pain." Law set aside the disinfectant, and shook his head at the sight of the wound, "I'll use the stitches that I have, but you may need to go to the hospital, to get the rest of it taken care of."

Eustass ignored the hospital comment for the moment, "The ghost upstairs attacks you?"

Law gave Eustass a look, "Yes and it is interested in me because I look like the ghost downstairs. And the one upstairs looks like you." Law dug around in his kit, and raised a brow at Eustass, "I don't think you want to be awake when I stitch you up, do you?"

"Fuck you. I've been stitched up without any anesthetic before."

Perona headed back into the living room and, ignoring Eustass swearing as Law took him at his word, began to speak again, "The spirit downstairs is aware of us as well as the spirit upstairs, but the spirit that is upstairs is only aware of us. He doesn't appear to know that the spirit that is down in the cellar is the one he has been looking for, because he doesn't know that they are there."

Koala's voice came over a walkie talkie that Marco had strapped on his belt, _"That's kind of sad that the one ghost hasn't noticed the other, if he's been looking for him for so long."_

"Yes, it is sad. However, based on the actions of both of the spirits, they're only going to become more violent, and for different reasons. The spirit upstairs is likely to continue to try and draw the person he's looking for from Law, and the spirit downstairs is going to start to cause more trouble in an attempt to gain the attention of the other spirit." Perona shook her head, "I believe that the spirit upstairs is already attached to Law, so even if you were to leave the house, the spirit would follow after you."

Law finished bandaging Eustass' wounds, and glanced over at the medium, "Is there anything that can be done?"

Marco nodded, "If we could find the remains of one or both of the spirits, we could make them move on whether they want to or not. I notmally don't like to force spirits into doing something they're not ready for, but for this, I would make an exception. It would be better to take care of sooner rather than later. And before the two spirits find one another."

Perona nodded her agreement, "They will likely become even more violent than before if they reunite with one another."

"And there is a higher probability of people dying, if something isn't done soon." Hawkins added after a moment's pause.

"Let's go to the cemetery. I will be able to sense the body if I can get close enough to it." Perona turned to Law, "And you should come with us." She didn't want Kidd to latch himself onto the dark haired doctor while they were away.

"...All right..." Not that Law really wanted to go, but since it would get him out of the house, it would hopefully get him away from Kidd for a short time.

Sabo poked his head into the living room, "Eustass, I want you to help me scan the rest of the house with the equipment. I want to see if there are any other abnormalities that are causing the ghosts to linger."

Koala's voice crackled over Sabo's phone's speaker, _"I can keep an eye on things from the van to let you know if there are any changes in the readings I'm already getting."_

"That's useful..." The red head muttered under his breath. Eustass wore a distinctly unhappy expression at the idea of spending any more time in the house, but decided not to argue, for now. He merely followed after Sabo, and half glanced to the side to watch Perona, Marco, Hawkins and Law leave the house.

-x

Law stood silently on the sidewalk as he watched Hawkins walk the perimeter of the house, setting down two slips of paper on either side of the house in the front, and presumably in the back, though the dark haired doctor didn't see him.

When Hawkins returned to rejoin the group, he spoke, noticing Law's confused expression, "I set up a barrier. It will prevent the spirit that's attached to you from leaving the property for up to eight hours. Perhaps a bit longer, if it remains low in its power."

Law was relieved to hear that. Any amount of time without his ghostly tagalong was greatly appreciated. It would be even better if they found Kidd's body, because the red haired ghost had definitely worn out his welcome, and Law was ready for him to leave him alone for good.

Hawkins followed along after the group to get into a second car that had been driven to the house, but stopped briefly to look back at the house. He turned away after a moment, deciding that he wasn't concerned for Sabo or Eustass. They would be out of danger so long as the spirits remained low in power. Besides, Hawkins doubted that they would be gone for very long from the house, so it shouldn't be an issue.

-x

Kidd watched the group leave, and he was immediately suspicious of their actions, as well as Hawkins', before they left the house. Kidd felt that Sabo and his body double could be dealt with later, when the red haired ghost felt back to normal. Or as normal as Kidd could feel when one was dead and a ghost.

Kidd exited the house and crossed the front yard, intending to follow after the car that Law and the others had just left in. He had heard them mention something about bodies, and he didn't like the implications. Nor the fact that they were going to a cemetery.

Just as Kidd was about to leave the property, he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, as if he had run into an invisible wall. Kidd strained to get past it, but the harder he pushed, the wearier he became, until he finally collapsed. Kidd flopped away from the barrier that was still sapping his energy, and cursed Hawkins for meddling. The bastard had somehow prevented him from leaving the house and its property. The red haired ghost hadn't known that that was even possible.

Kidd fumed silently, wondering what the others were going to do if they found his body. Make him move on? Kidd snorted. He had thought that perhaps that would be a better way to go than just hanging about all alone, but he had decided that he wasn't going to go anywhere until he saw _his_ Law, and those interlopers weren't going to stop him. Kidd let an hour or so slip by, and by that time, it was almost fully dark, and he had regained some of the energy that he had lost. Kidd stood silently, still puzzling over his predicament. Nothing had happened to him, yet, so that had to mean that Law and the others still hadn't found his body.

His body...

Kidd didn't even know he'd been dead until some months...weeks...ago. Kidd stifled an irritating wet cough against his right hand, and froze. That was it. The last real memory that Kidd had. The last thing he could remember...

Kidd turned sharply on his heels and stomped across the lawn to the side of the house to go to the backyard, where he'd more or less avoided going since he had died.

He headed to the pond.

Had Kidd been paying more attention, he would have noticed that someone else was following him. Would have sensed the satisfaction the other presence had.

Trafalgar knew that this time, this time he would be able to get Kidd's attention. And he wasn't going to let go of the red head ever again as soon as he accomplished that. And once they were together again, they would lash out at the fools that had been bothering them. Trying to keep them apart. Trafalgar smiled as he trailed along after Kidd, and knew that all of the waiting was finally over with.

-x

Kidd approached the pond slowly, before he came to a halt at the edge and studied the smooth surface. Kidd looked to the side, at the ground, and sighed. He sighed even though he was dead and didn't really have to do the gesture, since it did nothing for him. Kidd sighed again anyway, just because he could. Being dead felt so contradictory sometimes.

Kidd closed his eyes as he stood tense before the pond. He'd hoped that some revelation would hit him, something that would answer his questions, but apparently not. Kidd squeezed his right hand into a fist, before he resumed looking at the ground. After a few minutes slipped by, Kidd let out a huff of irritation. This was stupid. Staring at the ground wasn't going to help him find any answers, just as it wasn't going to help him find where in the hell his lover was. If the medium woman had been right about him not being in the living Law, "Where the hell are you?" Kidd mumbled quietly, as he started to think about how it was useless to try and find the Law he'd known. Kidd was tired, and smashing himself against the barrier Hawkins had made had only weakened him even further. The energy he'd gained back had merely put him right back to how he'd felt after the long haired man had hit him with a spell. The one that had banished him from the other Law's body that he'd been possessing.

Kidd sunk to the ground as sat down. A miserable mood swept over the red head, further discouraging him. Kidd wondered if he really should just give up and let the others get rid of him. Make it so that he didn't exist anymore. So he didn't have to think anymore. Vanishing would be far better than the crushing feeling of loneliness. Kidd let his shoulders droop as he thought about the fact that he was likely to never see _his_ Law again, and hated how much it depressed him, "Dammit..."

Kidd wondered if he was starting to lose it again, because he was utterly taken aback when warm, slender arms suddenly wrapped loosely around him from behind. The red head tensed further when it felt like a body pressed up close against his back. Kidd held still, not daring to move or do anything for the moment. Was he imagining things again, as he had been before for all those long years? Kidd felt one of the hands shift so that it could trail up along his bare chest lazily.

Even though it had been so long, Kidd immediately recognized the touch, and his right hand shot up to grab the hand. The red haired ghost squeezed the hand tightly, not wanting to let it go for fear that the person behind him would vanish. An emotion that Kidd didn't normally feel washed over him. Hope. Kidd tried very hard not to let any emotion show on his face until he was absolutely certain of the person that was crouched on the ground and embracing him from behind.

"Trafalgar?" Kidd breathed, not quite ready to believe. The hand that he was holding turned within his grasp to intertwine fingers with his own, before squeezing gently in response. A low laugh sounded, and Kidd distinctly felt a head rest between his shoulder blades. And then Kidd heard him, and he was so stupidly happy that he was sure that he had a horrendously lopsided grin on his face. But Kidd didn't particularly care at this point.

Because the voice the red haired ghost heard was the one he had been longing to hear for all of those lonely years he'd been waiting. Waiting for his dark haired lover to return to him.

"It's been awhile, Eustass-ya." The arms tightened around Kidd's waist, as though the person that was there wasn't about to let the red head go either, "I've missed you."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

A/N: FYI that the time between updates will start to be more than just a few days. I ended up giving myself a migraine from being on the computer so much at home and at my temporary job, so I feel the need to cut back on time spent online for now. Which is frustrating because I'm close to the curveball chapter after a few more chapters that sends this fanfic down an even weirder and messed up path.


	24. Ch 23: Two of a Kind

Kidd kept a tight hold on the hand that was within his grasp, as if it would vanish if he were to let go. The red haired ghost twisted on his knees, and his lover, it had to be him, allowed him to by loosening the arms around Kidd's waist. Even though he had no reason to breathe, Kidd couldn't help but take a sharp intake of air when he turned around to face who had been behind him. The red haired ghost's hand twitched against the one he still held as he stared disbelievingly at the man kneeling before him. It was _his_ Law, and the dark haired man was wearing that sexy smirk that Kidd absolutely loved.

Trafalgar smiled at Kidd's dumbfounded expression, and tilted his head to the side. His red haired lover could be so entertaining, even after all of these years. Trafalgar's eyes danced with amusement as he spoke, knowing that Kidd was paying rapt attention to anything that left his mouth, "You look as if you've seen a ghost."

Kidd reluctantly left off gazing at Trafalgar lustily as the other's words sunk in and the red head laughed shortly as he responded, "We _are_ ghosts." No, he wasn't imagining things this time. This was his Law all right.

Trafalgar smiled at Kidd, pleased that the other man could finally see him. The ghostly doctor shook his head, half in exasperation and half in fondness, "It took you long enough to figure it out. I was worried that you were going to continue to be oblivious. With you lording over the house and taking in the majority of the energy, I couldn't make myself known to you every easily. When I could gather enough energy, you dismissed me as if you were imagining things."

Kidd shifted closer on his knees in an attempt to glimpse the expression on his lover's face. "You were the one making me think about the past?" The red haired ghost saw the slight nod, as well as the irritable look thrown his way. Kidd averted his gaze, the other man's expression making him feel foolish. If it was Trafalgar that had been making him remember past events, then it have also meant that the light touches that Kidd had felt along with those memories had been the dark haired man's doing as well. Kidd's grasp slackened on Trafalgar's hand. But because he had been so adamant that the other Law had been the one he'd known, he hasn't realized it.

Trafalgar tightened his grasp on Kidd's hand, almost as if he thought the other was going to let go and walk away, "I managed to get enough energy when you were out of the house, but I'd only been able to get the attention of the older teen. Though it did help that he had the ring that I had sent to you." Trafalgar took his time to look Kidd over, "Why didn't you sell it? You could have gotten a good sum for it."

Kidd turned his head back to glance at Law, before he averted his gaze, "You were the one to send it to me. I thought that you might have been tryin' to tell me something."

Trafalgar let to of Kidd's hand to move closer so that he could trail a hand down Kidd's chest, his head resting against the red head's nearest shoulder, "You're cute sometimes, Eustass-ya."

"Shut up."

Trafalgar knew that the red haired man didn't mean it, because Kidd had just looped his artificial left arm around his back to hold him up against his chest.

Kidd felt the need to keep his lover from seeing his face, because he knew that he had to be blushing faintly. Damn it all to hell. Trafalgar knew he hated it when he called him endearing shit like that, because Kidd didn't believe it for a second. Even if he did happen to like the way that the dark haired ghost said it in such a teasing way. Kidd kept his left arm firmly against Trafalgar's back. Why the hell was he getting so flustered? He was a ghost.

Trafalgar had known Kidd long enough that he had a fairly good idea why the red head was suddenly holding him and preventing him from looking up at his face. Trafalgar loved that he could get under the other's skin like that. Despite Kidd's scarred features and tough exterior, Trafalgar enjoyed causing the other man to become embarrassed. And the dark haired ghost did it most of the time because he had thought Kidd incapable of such emotions from his outward appearance. Trafalgar decided he would take advantage of if now to tease his lover some more.

Trafalgar settled comfortably against Kidd's chest, "I'm disappointed that you thought the other one was me."

Kidd rested his cheek against Trafalgar's head, nuzzling the hair absently, "...Only because I thought you were in there somewhere."

Trafalgar let out a short laugh, "How much further were you going to go to _find_ me? Other than possessing Joker-ya and forcing him on the other me?"

Kidd shrugged, absently wrapping his right arm around the dark haired ghost's back as well, "I would have kept making things more dangerous. I figured that I would have eventually get some response."

Trafalgar shook his head, although he allowed himself to enjoy being embraced. He hadn't been held in so long, but it felt as it always had when the red haired man held him. Right. Trafalgar peeked out of the corner of his eye at the pond, "Why did you decide to finally come to the backyard?"

"That other Law and the people with him are looking for my body. I think that they want to get rid of me." Kidd mumbled, a little distracted now that he was holding and speaking to his lover.

Trafalgar indulged Kidd's obvious desire to hold him close, but had to ask, "Did you think that your body was still in the pond?"

"No..."

Trafalgar smiled, though it wasn't in amusement, "Your body isn't there. I saw the police back then take your body out, but I don't know what they did with it."

Kidd half glanced at the place in question, before he pulled away a bit to stare down at Trafalgar, "What happened that day...when I died?" The red haired ghost didn't like that his eyes weren't met by his lover's. "Trafalgar?" Kidd reluctantly released the dark haired ghost from his embrace when the other man rested a hand lightly against his chest. Kidd knew that it meant that Trafalgar wanted space, and he gave it to him, even though he'd rather just continue to hold on to him.

Trafalgar's eyes darkened. Not at Kidd but at the question that he had asked. The dark haired doctor hadn't thought he'd have to answer it so soon, as he didn't like to think about that day too much. When Trafalgar finally responded, it was in a soft tone that lacked any sort of emotion,"I died that day as well."

Whatever response Kidd had expected, that was not it. He remained silent, however, as he knew that the other man was likely to stop speaking if he inturrupted.

Trafalgar offered Kidd the faintest hint of a smile before he lost it and continued, the blank expression back in place, "I was going to pull you out of the water that day. I knew you didn't like it when I did that, because of the one time you nearly drowned at work. I loved that you let me do it anyway, and I would have never done it that day if I had known that my trail had been picked up."

"Your trail?" Kidd knew that he shouldn't have interrupted but that brought up memories of a question he'd asked weeks earlier, before that day when they had both died. The red haired ghost looked at Trafalgar accusingly, matching the other man's scowl with his own, "I _asked_ you if people were coming after you because you were selling off dead or dying patient body parts. But you just smiled at me and told me not to worry about it."

Trafalgar looked like he wanted to argue, but merely shook his head, "I knew that if I told you, you would have wanted to be with me all the time, and I couldn't have you at the hospital, because that would have been suspicious."

"No one questioned me when I went in the hospital that one time to keep Doflamingo from pounding that giant cock of his into you." Kidd growled in response, taking a step toward his dark haired lover, "You never did explain why that bastard cornered you, because you were normally more careful than that. You knew that he was after you."

Trafalgar's blank expression had turned into an irritated one, "I couldn't just not go to work, and you were injured at the time, so no one was about to stop you when you looked half crazed with pain." He lifted a hand to prevent Kidd from getting any closer, "Leave it for now, Eustass-ya. I do not want to think about that day. Ever." When he saw Kidd relent, in the way that his shoulders dropped, Trafalgar continued, a faint smile reappearing on his face at the other's actions, "As I was saying, some people, acting on orders from the families of patients that I'd taken organs from found me. They didn't give me a chance to react. They shot me and I lost my grip on you." Trafalgar drew his hand along Kidd's chest absently, his smile gone once more, "The bullet punctured one of my lungs, and I couldn't breathe."

The dark haired ghost's hand dropped away from Kidd's chest, "I couldn't fight back as they took me into the house. Into the cellar. I was losing blood, quickly, and I couldn't prevent them from putting me in the shallow hole they'd dug behind the boiler." Trafalgar closed his eyes, "I couldn't dig myself out of it once they shoveled the dirt over me to seal the hole back up. I tried, but I wasn't able to get out. I lost consciousness, either from lack of oxygen, the blood in my lung or both."

Trafalgar stepped away from Kidd before he opened his eyes, "I knew that I was dead when I was able to move around the house and the yard. I saw the authorities at the time pull your body out of the pond later and knew there wasn't any chance that you survived that. I saw your ghost wandering the house, but I couldn't get your attention. And it was torture when I finally realized that you didn't know that you were dead. And then both of us were waiting."

Kidd saw Trafalgar's expression become haunted, and knew that for now, the other man was through talking about the past. So was he, for that matter. Kidd moved before he really thought about it and had Trafalgar against him and in his arms again in a tight, crushing hug. The red haired ghost was never one to actually comfort anyone, but for his lover, he tried, even if it was still found it hard to do. Kidd hadn't exactly given thought to how lonely Trafalgar must have been feeling all of those years too.

"You're not usually so clingy like this, Eustass-ya." The dark haired doctor teased, though he did nothing to try and pull away from the embrace.

Kidd, with no real malice in his voice, growled lowly, "Shut up." There was a long stretch of silence, before the red haired ghost spoke, "I thought for sure that you were in that other Law. That you were just fucking around with me like you used to."

"And when you realized that you were dead?" Trafalgar questioned, resting his head against Kidd's shoulder.

"I thought that you were in there somewhere." Kidd mumbled, a little distracted when Trafalgar pressed up against him further.

"And now?"

The sly tone the dark haired man's voice has taken on made a shudder pass through Kidd, and it took him a moment to reply. When he did, it was in a breathless tone, "You're here, so you weren't."

Trafalgar let out a disgruntled sound when Kidd hoisted him up and held him there with his arms beneath his thighs and more importantly, his ass. Trafalgar scowled a little when he felt Kidd squeeze said ass, but nonetheless wrapped his legs around the other man's waist, where he let his heels dig into Kidd's back. The dark haired ghost raised a brow at the grinning red head holding him, "And what exactly do you think you're doing? I don't see a wall anywhere nearby, and you know I hate it when you fuck me against one anyway. It's uncomfortable." Trafalgar rested his hands on Kidd's shoulders to steady himself further, and met his lover's eyes.

Kidd squeezed the other man's ass again, grinning as the exasperated look he was given, "Don't look at me like that. I know that you like it rough sometimes. The last time I used a wall was only because you told me to." The glare Kidd received made him grin further, and he leaned in close to meet Trafalgar's lips, "And couldn't I just be holding you like this because I feel like it?"

Trafalgar tilted his head and leaned forward as well, smirking, "You could, but I think you just want to get my clothes off now, even though we're ghosts and would only be feeling sensations that we remember." Trafalgar fell silent as he met Kidd's lips, and moved his arms to wrap around the red haired man's neck, legs tightening and digging further into the other man's back.

Kidd readjusted his grip on Trafalgar as the dark haired man deepened their kiss and seemed to be trying to devour him. It appeared that way, with how desperately Trafalgar had forced his tongue into the red haired man's mouth to ravish it as thoroughly as he was able to. Kidd didn't mind, because finally holding and kissing his lover that he hadn't seen in what seemed like ages. And it wasn't like either of them actually needed to breathe because they were both dead. Kidd left out a soft moan into the kiss, and the sound only made Trafalgar wrap his limbs around him even tighter than before. Kidd was rather disappointed when his lover drew back from their kiss, and it must have shown, because he merely received a secretive, closed lipped smile, and guessed that the other man wanted him to say something. Kidd was silent for a moment, before he smiled smugly and moved one hand slightly, meeting the other's eyes, "I have an idea."

Trafalgar shifted as he felt his lover squeeze his ass, again, and saw the playfulness in the other's gaze. The dark haired ghost couldn't help but smile at Kidd, "If your idea involves us both getting naked, wouldn't it be better to do that if we possess our doppelgängers? I'd rather feel you than just experience the sensations." Trafalgar's smile became a teasing smirk, "The other Law will have to come back sometime today, and your body double is inside the house right now." The dark haired ghost's smirk because a little twisted, "Why don't we start with him? I can show you how to do draw energy from around you more effectively, so you can stay in possession of someone else's body for longer." Seeing Kidd's confused expression, Trafalgar leaned forward to kiss him once more, "Get moving. I'll explain when you possess the other Eustass-ya. And we can deal with that wavy haired blond while we're at it."

Kidd felt Trafalgar drop his legs, and he carefully set the other man down, "How am I supposed to possess him if I don't have any energy?"

Trafalgar reached up a hand and patted Kidd's shoulder, "I'll help you drain his energy down, and then you can possess him. He should still be worn out from when I drew his energy earlier."

Kidd narrowed his eyes at his lover with mock disapproval, "And what were you doing with him?"

"Playing. Thinking about what I was going to do to you when I got my hands on you." Trafalgar said with a glint in his eyes as he looked the red head over slowly.

Kidd shivered a little despite the fact that he was dead, "What kind of things?"

Trafalgar headed for the house, casting a sly look over his shoulder at Kidd, "Like how I was going to punish you for being such an ignorant idiot. How I was going to screw you into that mattress down in the cellar while I cut you up a...!" The ghostly doctor was cut off as Kidd closed the distance between them and crashed their lips together in a frantic kiss. Trafalgar made a displeased noise as Kidd scooped him up again and started to carry him toward the house.

When Kidd was in the house and had decided to release his lover from the near violent kiss, he noted that Trafalgar was smirking in that sexy way of his again. Kidd decided to complain just a little as they looked for his doppelganger, "It's not fair that you can turn me on so much when we're dead, you son of a bitch."

Trafalgar ran his hands through his lover's red hair absently before he leaned up and kissed Kidd's nearest cheek, before slapping it lightly, "You're just easy to tease, Eustass-ya. Now set me down." When he had his feet planted firmly on the ground, or as firmly as a ghost could, Trafalgar flicked his gaze up at Kidd, "Ready?" Seeing Kidd's wolfish grin, the two of them began to scour the house, and in no time at all, knew that Eustass was up in the master bedroom, and Sabo was in the living room.

The two ghosts drifted up, mirroring one another's eerie smiles as they went to corner Eustass, who was unaware of their approach, until it was too late to do anything about it, or to escape.

-x

The phone started to ring.

Sabo eyed it for a moment, before he answered it, as he figured that he could take a message for Law, "Hello?"

_"Who is this? Your voice doesn't sound familiar." _The voice was more curious than interested.

"I'm just a visitor."

The man on the other end of the line laughed, _"Fufufufu. I guess you don't want to tell me your name. That's fine. Is Law there?"_

"No, he's out at the moment." Sabo picked up a voice recorder. The man's voice sounded oddly familiar, but he couldn't place it.

_"He isn't handling all the paranormal phenomena well?" _The man sounded amused now.

"No, and neither is Eustass. He already had the other ghost that's here feel him up, or something like that, down in the cellar."

There was a short silence, before the man chuckled again, as if he found this information interesting, _"There are _two_ ghosts?"_

"Apparently, though I have yet to see any proof of it." Which irritated Sabo to no end that the cameras and audio devices hadn't picked anything up yet.

_"And the red head being felt up doesn't count as proof?" _ The other man sounded gleeful for some odd reason.

"You know Eustass?"

_"In a way."_ The voice said vaguely, before abruptly changing topics, _"I'll try calling Law's cell phone. If he remembered to bring it with him."_

The line went dead.

Sabo hung the phone up, frowning. He'd finally remembered where he'd heard the voice, and who it belonged to. Doflamingo. But why would a criminal mastermind like him want to speak to Law? Sabo supposed that it was something he could pass along to Dragon, and let the other man do what he would with the information. Doflamingo was hard to pin down because he had so many layers of security. Sabo put the conversation to the back of his mind as he rewound the voice recorder to listen to the playback.

Sabo frowned as he went through some of the static that had been recorded on his voice recorder, but any voices that may have been coming from it were so scatted that he had to dismiss the EVPs that could have been there. It was frustrating that even with all of the equipment set up, there had been no recorded data, even though something had happened to Eustass.

Koala hadn't seen anything of note either.

Sabo noticed footsteps coming down the stairs from the second floor, but knew that it was just Eustass. It sounded like the red head was coming to pester him, and Sabo wasn't exactly in the mood to deal with him. The blond glanced up when Eustass walked into the room, but remained seated on the couch as he fiddled with a camera, "What is it Eustass? Did you find something up there?" A chill went up Sabo's spine when Eustass broke into a chilling smile, and spoke. It sounded wrong, even though it sounded just like Eustass' voice.

"I'm not the Eustass that you know."

Before that statement could sink in, Sabo shivered as a cold swept over him, and found he couldn't move. He couldn't do anything to protest when Eustass came over to him and sat down next to him. He was confused, for a moment, when Eustass turned his attention to the other side of the couch, and spoke, "You wanna play with him while we wait for the other Law to come back?"

Sabo thought he heard someone laugh and say something, and he shivered again as he felt someone rest up against him from behind. Something invisible to his eyes. Sabo's attention was drawn from that presence by Eustass, who seized him by the chin, even though his words were not directed to the blond, "No, I don't wanna have you possess him. I'd rather torture him a bit. I haven't gotten to do that in awhile. It'd pass the time." The cold retreated for just an instance, and Sabo threw himself to the side, and away from Eustass.

Sabo surged to his feet for the exit to the living room. His mind didn't want to accept it, but the blond felt that Eustass had been possessed by one of the ghosts, and that ghost was speaking through the red head to the other ghost. He needed to warn the others. He needed to get Hawkins and the others back to the house. The ghosts were stronger than all of them had believed. Sabo just barely made it out of the living room when a body collided with his from behind, and brought him to the ground. Sabo kicked backward, but the cold settled around him again, all but freezing him in place as he felt Eustass...the ghost possessing Eustass...wrap his arms tightly around him as he lifted him up.

"Hey, Trafalgar, why don't you choke him out? I'd rather not have him squirming until I want him to."

Sabo felt the cold settle around his throat, and when he felt what was like hands there, he hastily yelled as loudly as he could, "Koala! Get Hawkins!"

-x

Koala heard the cry, and hurriedly left the van to enter the house, only to be there in time to see Eustass carrying Sabo into the cellar and the door slamming shut. Koala raced over to the door, but couldn't open it. "Sabo..." What was going on? What was Eustass doing? Koala raced back outside and after slamming the back of the van shut, got into the driver's seat and started it up. The cemetery. She needed to get there, and quick.

The look that Eustass had given her had been rather disturbing. Wrong.

Something was very wrong.

Had Koala been paying more attention than just to the road that she sped along, she would have noticed a weary-looking Law walking down the sidewalk and back in the direction of the house as she pulled up to the cemetery. And by the time she found Hawkins and the others in the cemetery, it would already be too late for them to get to the house before Law did.

Or for them to find a way into the room where Kidd and Trafalgar were.


	25. Ch 24: The Hidden Room

Kidd was pleased that he was able to retain control of the body that he was possessing. It had earned him one of Trafalgar's dark, sexy smirks when he'd dumped the partially conscious Sabo onto the ground. The red haired man checked to see if the wavy haired blond was going to try and run, but it appeared that the energy drain from Trafalgar's icy touch had rendered Sabo into a state of exaggerated weariness. Like he'd run a marathon and could physically no longer move without the effort being painful until the body had had the chance to rest. That was good enough for Kidd, and he turned to go over to where his dark haired lover's ghost was leaning up against the nearby wall, and looking over the items on the shelf before him.

Trafalgar slid a glance Kidd's way, before his attention went back to the second shelf, where all of the sharp blades were lined up according to size and function. The dark haired ghost didn't remember it being that way before. Of course, there was only one possible culprit, as he certainly hadn't done it. Trafalgar frowned, trying to figure out the thought process of his lover that would lead him to do something like that. Kidd wasn't exactly the patient type, and was more libel to leave things lying around haphazardly, "Why are they all lined up like that?"

Kidd barely looked at what Trafalgar was staring at, as he was far more interested in taking in the sight of his lover's puzzled expression. It was almost...cute...when Trafalgar couldn't figure out simple things. The red head inched closer until he was up alongside his lover, where he leaned against the wall to gaze at his profile appreciatively. The bandages over one of his eyes kind of messed with his vision, but as long as he could see with the uncovered right eye, it was fine. Kidd grinned at the furrowed brow and slightly disgruntled expression Trafalgar wore. Kidd rested his head against the wall, still staring at the other, and didn't particularly care if he looked like a love struck fool, "I was bored. It was something to do to pass the time."

Trafalgar smiled at that, and his head tilted slightly to the side to eye Kidd, "And you thought arranging weapons and surgical equipment would relieve your boredom?"

Kidd merely smirked back, "It helped that I thought of all of the things I could do with each of them." Seeing Trafalgar raise a brow, the red haired man added, with a slightly demented smile, "I thought about which ones were the best for killing people. Which would be most likely to prolong pain while torturing someone. Which ones you used at the hospital when you would..." Kidd trailed off at that, noting the immediate change in his lover's demeanor. The sharp, almost angry look that had been turned on him. Kidd fully expected some verbal lashing for whatever he'd said wrong, but luckily for him, Sabo began to stir before Trafalgar could voice why he'd suddenly had a mood shift.

Trafalgar got to Sabo before Kidd could, and prevented Sabo from rising by wrapping his arms around the blond and shocking him with his cold touch. Trafalgar glanced over his shoulder at Kidd, and offered a half smile, "Don't you think that we should chain him to the wall so he can't run?"

Kidd nodded, not trusting himself to speak. He knew that Trafalgar was upset about something he'd said, but Kidd couldn't think of why. At least not off the top of his head, and certainly not right now with the prospect of taking out his frustrations on nosy living people trying to bother them. Kidd grabbed Sabo by the collar and dragged him the few feet to the brick wall, and handcuffed the blond's wrists none too gently to the wall, where there was a short chain attached to the brick wall four feet up from the ground.

Trafalgar settled on the ground next to Sabo again as he spoke absently, "Why don't you go pick something out from the shelf and put it over the fire? We wouldn't want him to get an infection, would we?" Trafalgar's smile quirked up at some distant thought, before he amended his words, "Actually, get a scalpel."

Kidd didn't bother arguing with his lover. He seemed to be getting back into a better mood, so he'd rather keep it that way. Another time Kidd would have pushed him, but from past experience, that was a dangerous game. The last time he had done that, Kidd had lost most of his left arm. The red head considered whether or not Trafalgar would go that far if he pushed him just a bit in that moment, and decided to test it slightly, "A scalpel?"

"Yes, Eustass-ya."

Kidd went without another word to get a scalpel. He'd heard the curt reply, and decided that he wasn't quite ready for Trafalgar to get extreme in his affections quite yet. Kidd didn't mind the dark haired man's sadistic tendencies, but decided he didn't want them to appear quite so soon. Later, perhaps. Kidd lingered by the shelf as he set a scalpel aside to heat in the small fire he'd made in the small fireplace in the far right corner of the room. Kidd had already cleaned the blade with some anti bacterial substance that had been down on another shelf. Whether it was of any use was anyone's guess. The red haired man remained standing there by the fire, until he decided that the scalpel had been heated enough for the blade to appear orange white on the top two inches.

Kidd considered the scalpel in his hand as he turned away from the small fireplace. He felt that his energy level, while still high, needed a bit of a boost. He had been able to wear Eustass down enough to remain in possession of the other's body, but it wasn't as easy as he'd thought to retain control. Kidd crossed the room to join Trafalgar on the far side of the room, to drain some of Sabo's energy.

Trafalgar noticed Kidd's approach, and pressed himself close against Sabo's right side. He was already drawing out energy from the blond, but if Kidd needed a boost, there was more than enough left in Sabo to siphon out. The dark haired man used both arms to pin the wavy blond haired man further up against the wall as he watched Kidd's approach with the scalpel, and offered a more genuine smile from before, "Did you clean it before you heated it?"

Kidd snorted as he knelt down in front of Sabo, deciding that his lover's question didn't need a response. It got him a bit of an annoyed glance, but he merely shrugged and reached out his left hand. He pinned Sabo's head to the wall, tilted sideways, so that the left side of his face was easily accessible. Kidd tightened his grasp of the blond's hair when Sabo tried to move away.

Trafalgar pressed himself closer to Sabo when there was a faint noise of protest, even though he was now close to passing out, "Do it now, Eustasss-ya. Like how I told you earlier. And pay attention to where you put the blade. Your depth perception is likely to be off with one of your eyes covered up."

Sabo was trying his best to wrap his mind around what was happening to him, but it was just so surreal that he was having difficulty accepting it. When he had come over to Law's house to investigate the house, Sabo had never imagined any of this as something that could possibly happen. The wavy haired blond shuddered as the ghost next to him pressed against him further, and he felt as though he were being doused in freezing cold water. He couldn't get away, and he'd squeezed his eyes shut when he saw Kidd raise the scalpel in his hand. Sabo had a feeling what the two were up to, and he was too weakened from loss of energy to do anything other then let out a soft groan as he felt the scalpel rest against his cheek, just below his left eye.

Sabo clenched his left hand into a fist, shaking further when he felt the heat of the sharp surgical instrument against his cheek. Forget haunted houses, this was bordering on living in a horror movie with serial killers stalking their victims, cornering them, and subjecting them to horrible pain before killing them. But Sabo wasn't in a movie. He wasn't imagining things. Sabo felt the scalpel make a cut, and he writhed within Trafaglar's grasp, as well as Kidd's hand pinning his head in place. Sabo couldn't believe that this was actually happening to him, and when the pain began to set in, Sabo's only thought was that he was immensely relieved that the other two men had left Koala alone.

Kidd grinned eerily as he brought the red hot scalpel against the Sabo's cheek again beneath his left eye, and dug the blade down lightly, his grin widening when the blond finally let out a cry of pain. Kidd let his left hand rest more heavily against Sabo's head as he moved the scalpel along the skin, and cut in shallowly next to the first cut, and drew forth another thin strip of flesh. Kidd tossed it aside in the corner with the other, and frowned at the reddened skin beneath. The red haired man slid a glance over to Trafalgar, "Why isn't there more blood? Isn't it supposed to drip down?"

"You don't want him to pass out right away, do you?" Trafalgar asked slyly, smiling at his lover's now frowning visage.

"I suppose not." Kidd absently lifted the scalpel to above Sabo's eye, ignoring the faint whimper that issued from the blond, "Make sure to hold him still."

-x

Law felt that it was taking a long time to get back to the house, though he had guessed that would be the case, as he was walking instead of taking a vehicle. He knew that it probably wasn't the best idea to return to the house on his own. Hawkins and Marco had even advised against it, but Law had gone anyway. Perona had mentioned that having a personal item that had belonged to Kidd would make it easier to locate where his body was buried. Law had told them that he would only go to the house long enough to get the item he'd thought of, and that he would be right back as soon as he'd found it.

Law nearly jumped when his cell phone began to ring, and he took a moment to calm his breathing before he slipped his hand into his pocket and answered the call. Before the dark haired man could even say anything, the person on the other end of the line spoke first.

_'Law?'_

Law continued on his way back to the house, unsurprised at who had just called him, "Doflamingo-ya? Why are you calling me this late at night? And if it's for a job, I'm busy tonight."

_'You're always so suspicious, and always before I've even said anything to you to deserve it.' _ Doflamingo sounded entertained by Law's assumption, before it mellowed out as he asked a question, _'A_re_ you planning on going back to the house tonight? I talked to one of your visitors there, and he said you were out.'_

Law frowned at that, thinking it was an odd question. And it hadn't answered anything he'd asked of the blond. "Briefly." Which meant as long as it took to find that ring, and get the hell out before Kidd could try and make a move on him. Or worse, for the ghost that looked like him to start to bother him as well.

_'Fufufufu. Be careful of the ghosts that are there, then.' _Doflamingo's laugh was soft, his voice tinged with amusement.

"I thought that you didn't believe in ghosts," Law commented dryly, as he turned a corner, and onto the street the house he rented was on.

_'_I_ never said one way or another. I may have merely implied it in a way that made you think that.' _Doflamingo chuckled at some private thought, "_I'll call back tomorrow. That is, if you're still yourself. Otherwise, I doubt you will answer my call.'_

The line went dead as Doflamingo hung up.

Law shook his head, confused. What an odd conversation to have with the other man. It probably meant nothing, so Law wasn't about to think too much about the other's words. The dark haired man continued down the sidewalk, thinking that it was taking a lot longer getting back than he had thought it would without a car.

-x

Waking up was harder than it ought to have been. All one had to do was open their eyes after what seemed like only a few brief minutes, when in reality it had been hours and hours.

While Ace knew that he was awake, it was getting his body to realize it that was taking longer than normal. His breathing was restricted, and he felt something in his mouth, and something poking into one arm. The freckled teen shifted minutely, before holding completely still as something pulled on his back. Well, he was lying on his stomach on a bed that wasn't his own. He knew that because the stupid twin bed felt as hard as a rock. The bed he was currently on wasn't much better, but it was different enough to let him know he wasn't still in the house.

Ace finally managed to slit his eyes open, and the world was bleary as he blinked a few times, before things began to come into focus. The next thing that he noticed now that he had his sight to help take in things was that he was in a white looking room with a shit ton of medical supplies strewn about. A hospital, then. Ace's eyes widened as his memory caught up with him. Law. Law had been possessed or something, and had attacked himself and Luffy. A stranger had showed up to help. Had said that Luffy was safe. Ace couldn't remember anything after that until he'd woken up just now...

"ACE! You're awake!"

Ace grunted as arms wrapped around the visible part of his body that wasn't beneath the sheets, and grunted as his younger brother's half hug jostled him and the hospital stuff that he was hooked up to. Ace grimaced as his back was brushed unintentionally, and made a grunting, exasperated sound at his brother. He was relieved when Luffy took the hint, but felt a bit guilty at Luffy looking worried, as if he'd done something wrong. Ace wanted to tell him it was fine, but the breathing tube in his mouth prevented it. As soon as he noticed it, he wanted it gone. His breathing wasn't that bad, was it?

"The nurse said you might take longer to wake up." Luffy said, and crouched next to the bed so he could look up at his brother's face. He looked for any annoyance at his earlier actions and found none, so he grinned as he spoke his next words, "Grandpa was here for a few hours, but he just left."

Ace made some sort of motion with the hand he could maneuver the easiest, and motioned at his back.

"Oh, that long haired guy got the ghost to leave Law alone, but he fainted too. I think he left the hospital around the same time that Garp did." Luffy stood up. "I'm supposed to tell the nurse when you wake up."

Ace watched him go, before he let his head rest on the bed. He didn't have quiet for long, because a sneering voice spoke to him. It was distant and echoed, but Ace recognized it all the same.

_'Hmpf, too bad I'm using most of my energy to show up here, otherwise I'd get rid of the both of you.'_

Ace's eyes snapped open, and he glanced around, until his eyes fell on the far side of the room, in the shadows that were there. The older teen's jaw clenched around the breathing tube, but since there wasn't much he could do, he settled for staring at the red headed ghost.

Kidd's sneer deepened at the sight. He really wanted to go over there and suck out Ace's energy, but Trafalgar had told him not to take too long, and to not draw any more unnecessary attention to himself. Kidd supposed that that included leaving a dead body behind, so he settled for taunting the incapacitated teen, _'Don't get too comfortable. As soon as I figure out how, I'm going to finish what I started, and get rid of you and your brother for meddling.' _ Kidd vanished from view.

Ace was calm as the nurse came into the room with Luffy, and automatically did whatever was asked of him. His mind was whirling with what he could do about the red haired ghost, but nothing seemed useful.

Two hours later, and Ace was wide awake with a plan. Kidd was likely stuck in the house, as he'd had to leave the hospital and hadn't been able to linger there for very long. Ace knew what he was going to do, so he did, despite the fact that he was supposed to stay in the hospital another week for treatment and observation. But for this, Ace was willing to get himself more hospital time, to make sure that his brother would be safe from any ghostly attacks.

Luffy wouldn't realize that Ace had snuck out of the hospital until he woke the next morning, and by then a number of things would have already happened. Including Ace setting fire to the house in an attempt to destroy the ghosts that were tied to it.

-x

Law was mildly frustrated. He'd been in the house for only a few minutes, and he still hadn't been able to find the ring. He'd noticed it when he'd come back from the hospital later on in the day, and figured that someone had dropped it, as he'd never seen the silver and gold ring before. Law had made the assumption that it perhaps belonged to Kidd, as there didn't appear to be anything else in the house that had been the red head's belongings. The ring definitely didn't belong to Crocodile or Doflamingo, and Ace and Luffy were too young to be interested in such things. Which left it as something that must have shown up, and perhaps Kidd had dug it out when he thought that Law was the person that he had known.

The dark haired man decided that he wasn't exactly getting anything done standing in the middle of the front hall. Law lifted his gaze, where it settled on the small door to the cellar and stared at it for a moment, before sighing. Law really didn't want to linger, but he wondered if the ring was down in the cellar, as that was the only place he hadn't checked since he'd come back into the house. Law crossed the few steps that it took to get him to the door, and he opened it. He stooped to go down the stairs slowly, and told himself that he wouldn't stay down there for long. Just a quick peek to see if the ring was there. Besides, Law figured that Kidd should have still been lower in power, at least for a little while longer.

Law searched the entire cellar as best he could in the dim light provided by the light he'd turned on as he went down the stairs, but after a few tense minutes, he was unable to locate the ring. The dark haired man shivered as he thought that since he wasn't getting anywhere in his search, that he should probably just cut his losses and leave, before Kidd showed himself. Law was just about to go back up the stairs, when he heard knocking, as he had all those months ago. Law half turned, and heard another knock sound just a bit heavier against the other side of the door in the cellar that he couldn't get to open.

Against his better judgment, Law turned away from the stairs, and walked over to the door. Law paused before it, and spoke coolly, blunt and to the point, "Marco and the others are going to get rid of you, and hopefully the other ghost that is in this house as well." The dark haired doctor thought he heard an intake of breath and a low murmur of voices, but figured that he had just imagined it as he headed back toward the stairs. But as Law took a few steps away, he heard a click, and half froze at the sound of a door sliding open behind him.

Law didn't like the implications of something opening behind him, and he was about to break into a run when two muscular arms looped around his waist. The arms held fast, and stopped the dark haired man in his tracks. Law felt the arms tighten around his waist to the point of it being painful, and he shook slightly as the red haired ghost's voice spoke from directly behind him.

"I'm not done with you yet." Kidd growled, displeased that this Law had threatened that something might happen to his lover as well. With an easy tug, Kidd pulled his captive backward and into the room behind him.

The door slid back into place, cutting short Law's horrified cry.

-x

Kidd paced back and forth impatiently, more or less ignoring the passed out and bleeding Sabo on the opposite side of the room. The red haired man was far more concerned with the sight of Law lying motionless on the mattress in the corner of the room, away from the sliding door. Kidd found it funny as hell that Law had passed out due to shock as he'd brought him into the room and slid the door back in place.

The red haired man briefly scanned the room. He didn't know where his lover had gotten to, but since he couldn't see him, Kidd assumed that Trafalgar was going to try and possess the other Law. Kidd knew that whatever the dark haired ghost was doing, that he wasn't going to keep him waiting. It did take some effort to possess a body, after all. Kidd stopped pacing as soon as he noticed Law begin to stir on the sheets that Kidd had put on the mattress earlier. Kidd's eye that wasn't covered by bandages was drawn to the other's face as the doctor's own eyes flickered open slowly.

Kidd edged closer to Law, and looked down at him as the dark haired man sat upright on the mattress. Law leaned up against the wall behind it, letting out a faint sigh as he did. As soon as their eyes met, a smile lit Kidd's entire face. He could tell that Trafalgar had been successful in possessing his doppelganger's body. Kidd wasn't surprised; the other man had been unconscious, and therefore should have been much easier to possess.

Kidd held perfectly still as he watched his lover. The red haired man was not entirely certain what kind of a mood the other was in due to what he'd said that seemed to have upset the other man earlier. Kidd also didn't want to rush things now that they would be able to finally interact with one another in living bodies. The red haired man needn't have worried, because the dark haired doctor wasn't about to make him wait any longer.

Trafalgar's lips curved up into an inviting smile as he lifted his right hand and beckoned his lover forward with one finger, "Are you going to just stand there and stare, Eustass-ya?"

Kidd needed no second bidding, as he instantly moved toward Trafalgar and all but crawled onto the mattress. With one swift movement on his part, Kidd had Trafalgar pinned up against the wall while he wrapped him in a loose hug. The red haired man nuzzled his head beneath the other's chin as he muttered, "Don't do that hand thing. It's too fucking sexy when you look at me like that as it is." All teasing was promptly forgotten as Kidd concentrated on the warm, breathing body that he held wrapped in his arms. It was better than Kidd thought it would be. The dark haired man had been right about sensations as a ghost falling short of the real thing. Being in a live body was much better, and from the way that Trafalgar wrapped his arms around him tightly in return, the other man was in agreement. Kidd grinned happily as he rested more heavily against his lover, and spoke quietly against his shoulder, "I hope that you can keep up with me, Trafalgar."

The dark haired doctor's soft laughter in return was all that Kidd needed to hear, and the red haired man smiled in anticipation of what was to follow.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

A/N: Yes, I'm having a hell of a lot of fun writing this fanfic, and the next chapter is going to be long and lemony. Cause Trafalgar and Kidd have obviously been apart from one another in that regard for far too long. But there are also some small plot hints dropped in it for later on in the story. And this chapter, for that matter. It was just a sentence here and there, though.

And again, hopefully ffn didn't get rid of random letters in words when I posted this. As for the next chapter, it might take some time to get it up, depending on how easy it is for me to edit it once I get it typed out of a summary format.


	26. Ch 25: Intoxicating

A/N: This is basically an all lemon chapter with tiny plot points being dropped in throughout the whole thing. And it is consensual, since it's between Trafalgar and Kidd, who are possessing Law and Eustass' bodies.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Trafalgar allowed Kidd to embrace him in the crushing hug he'd been drawn into, and settled his head against the red head's shoulder. They stayed like that for a few minutes, before Trafalgar had had enough for the time being. It was partially because he was unused to the other man really showing such obvious affection for him in so little a time. Not that Trafalgar minded Kidd being more honest about how he felt. Normally he would have had to drag it out of him. Trafalgar shifted uncomfortably and voiced the other reason he wanted to be let go of. He was having some trouble breathing due to how tightly Kidd was holding him, "Eustass-ya, I can't _breathe_." Trafalgar felt the red haired man hastily let go of him, and took in a few breaths. The dark haired man noted the faint smirk on his lover's face and knew that the pressure of the hug had been intentional.

Trafalgar gave Kidd a displeased glare, "Can't that kind of thing wait until later?" Since he could breathe in this body, Trafalgar preferred to not have it cut off so soon. He'd indulge Kidd's still apparent desire to hang onto him later.

"I felt like it." Kidd knew it was an evasive answer, and had done it because he knew it would annoy the other man. Kidd grinned at the faint scowl Trafalgar threw him, before the red head inched forward along the sheets. Kidd was intent on rewrapping his arms around the dark haired doctor's back, only to have Trafalgar scoot backwards away from him, his smirk suddenly back in place.

Trafalgar rested against the wall again, and once Kidd was close enough, reached up to absently trail his hands along the red haired man's forearms. The jacket that Kidd wore was smooth, and the dark haired doctor took a few moments to admire the play of muscle beneath the fabric when he gently squeezed the other's upper arms. Trafalgar felt Kidd mirror his movements, though it was only in an effort to try and wrap his arms around the other man again. Kidd had been slowly encroaching on the doctor's personal space, as if he wanted to slide onto the other's lap from where he had let his legs stretched out on the mattress. Trafalgar rested his back more heavily against the wall, when Kidd tried to draw him back to him.

The dark haired doctor brushed the red haired man's arms from his own as he lifted his hands to Kidd's face. Trafalgar turned the other's head to one side, and then the other, inspecting the bandages wrapped around Kidd's forehead, where it covered his left eye and the wounds that Trafalgar had made to Eustass' body. Trafalgar frowned, "I suppose the guy whose body this belongs to did what he could with the medical supplies that he had."

Kidd's visible eye narrowed when the other man began running his hands along the bandages, and he grabbed them to stop Trafalgar's progress, "Shit! Leave it alone! It's been feeling sore ever since I possessed this body."

"Let go, and hold still," Trafalgar responded, and felt as Kidd let go of his hands reluctantly. The dark haired doctor ran his hands carefully over the bandages again, before apparently coming to some internal decision. With a few gentle tugs, Trafalgar maneuvered the bandages around Kidd's head, and with a few more deft movements, was able to make it so that the left eye was visible. Trafalgar smiled at Kidd's strained expression, and the dark haired doctor's smirk grew as he acted as if he had done nothing out of the ordinary, "I'll have to take a look at the wounds later to see if the stitches are set correctly."

Kidd blinked the left eye, and immediately winced when it pulled at some of the stitches beneath the bandages. The red haired man glared at Trafalgar, "You just want to cause me some pain, don't you? Why the fuck do you want my eye uncovered?" Kidd noted that Trafalgar's smirk was still in place, and it pissed him off to no end that he already knew the response he would receive. And knew it the moment Trafalgar opened his mouth.

"Do you really want me to answer that? You should at least be smart enough to figure it out." Receiving a blank, faintly pained look from his lover, Trafalgar sighed, before he smiled again, "Wouldn't you rather deal with some slight pain so that you're able to see me with both of your eyes?"

"I could see you just fine with one," Kidd responded, hesitating between wanting to swat Trafalgar or crush him up against the wall in another hug.

"I know…" Trafalgar slid away from the wall, and onto his hands and knees as he leaned in toward Kidd, "…but isn't it more difficult for you to check me out with just one eye?" The dark haired doctor's smirk grew when he noticed Kidd shift backward, avoiding his gaze. Damn, Trafalgar had forgotten how much he loved to tease this man. He had some of the most interesting reactions. Trafalgar moved after Kidd across the bed, tilting his head to get a good look at the red head's face, "I'd almost forgotten that you can become embarrassed about certain things."

Kidd bristled at that and turned his head to glower at Trafalgar, "I do not..." The red head stopped speaking as Trafalgar invaded his personal space this time, and was backed into the wall as the dark haired doctor crawled onto his lap.

"Yes, you do." Trafalgar settled on Kidd's lap comfortably and leaned in as he began to let his hands roam Kidd's chest, causing the other man to let his head rest against the wall heavily as he shifted. Trafalgar's smirk deepened, "I know how you look at me. Sometimes you were so enamored of me that you don't notice anything else that was going on around you."

Kidd blushed faintly at that, and he stopped Trafalgar's hands from roaming his chest as he growled, "I don't do that." Kidd shifted again, but it only caused Trafalgar to rest more heavily against him, and Kidd found that the pants he wore were starting to feel uncomfortably tight.

"Hmm..." Trafalgar freed his hands and drew them up to Kidd's cheeks as his head leaned forward as if to give his lover a kiss, "I love how much denial you're still in after all of these years, when it comes to your feelings about me."

Kidd grabbed Trafalgar's shoulders and held him at arm's length, certain that his face was getting redder by the moment, "Would you fucking stop that? Quit spouting shit like that."

Trafalgar laughed again, before he decided to take a break from teasing his lover. For now, anyway. He could tell from the way that the other man was squirming beneath him that he was already painfully aroused and barely refraining from grabbing him, throwing him to the ground and tearing his clothes off. Trafalgar was rather surprised that Kidd was managing to hold himself back.

The dark haired man decided that he would turn their little talk in another direction, to see how long Kidd could hold back. Trafalgar ran his hands along Kidd's forearms again as he murmured distractedly, "I missed you having both of your arms. It made it difficult when we had sex and you didn't know what to do about your artificial arm."

Kidd stopped the dark haired man from feeling his arms up and wrapped them around Trafalgar's back, and inclined his head down slightly to kiss him. Mainly to get Trafalgar to shut up before he said anything else that embarrassed the hell out of him. Kidd didn't think he would ever get used to how easily Trafalgar could say semi romantic things that had much more of an effect on him than they really should have. Kidd made eye contact after the brief kiss, "You might've missed my left arm being flesh, but you don't regret cutting most of it off, do you?" Because Trafalgar was sick like that; he enjoyed causing pain as much as stopping it.

"No, I don't." Trafalgar muttered as he draped his arms over Kidd's shoulders and kissed him in return. Trafalgar enjoyed exploring his lover's mouth but soon enough had to break off the kiss for air. Apparently the dark haired doctor would have to say something to get Kidd to act. Trafalgar pressed closer to Kidd's chest as he breathed against the red head's lips, "Get those clothes off. You're wearing far too much." Trafalgar felt Kidd's arms leave his back, and he quickly slid off of Kidd's lap before the other bowled him over. Trafalgar smiled fondly at the other man as he began to all but rip off the clothing that was on him. So violent, though Trafalgar knew that it was only in response to the way he'd said his words. It amused the dark haired doctor how easily he could incite his lover into sex. Not that the other man would have refused, but it was still amusing to see someone as intimidating looking as Kidd all but tear off his clothes in an effort to do as Trafalgar had asked.

Trafalgar removed his own clothing off of the body that he possessed at a similar pace, but not as forcefully as Kidd. He'd never been one to rush things, but for now, Trafalgar was going to do all he could to get things moving along. It was part of the reason why he'd started to tease Kidd earlier. Trafalgar slipped the boxers off and tossed them to the side, ready for when Kidd nearly tackled him to pin him on his back against the mattress. The dark haired doctor had been fully expecting it, remembering from past romps that teasing Kidd early on caused the red head to be much more turned on and impatient.

Trafalgar moaned into the kiss that Kidd all but drowned him in, before the dark haired man tilted his head to the side to allow Kidd to lay kisses along his throat. Trafalgar reached up to run a hand through the other's hair, not attempting to stop him, "Hmm, you're being very forward." And the dark haired doctor liked it, as it was more in line with when they'd first been together and Kidd was the one initiating sex in the bedroom. Those had been some of the hottest nights of Trafalgar's life, especially once Kidd had realized that the dark haired doctor was more than willing to handle anything rough.

Kidd nibbled along the side of Trafalgar's throat, letting his hands wander as he muttered, "What makes you...think that?" Kidd wasn't going to stop now, as he hadn't been so aroused in a very long time. Damn son of a bitch really knew how to get through to him, and it infuriated and pleased Kidd all at once.

Trafalgar bit back a groan and dug his other hand into Kidd's hair, "It couldn't be because...ah...your hand is on my dick?"

"Could be. Are you complaining?" Kidd left off kissing Trafalgar's throat to lift his head as much as the dark haired man would allow with both of his hands in his hair. Kidd ran his hand along Trafalgar's member gently, and he grinned at the faint moan, "I'd say that you're enjoying it." Kidd moved his hand along lazily, and his grin grew at the look of pleasure on his lover's face, "You wanna go first?"

Trafalgar blinked dazedly before he realized what Kidd was asking. Trafalgar shook his head slightly, his voice light and breathless, "No, you can." He knew that neither of them cared who topped, so they just took turns depending on who was more in the mood. And Kidd was certainly in the mood with what he was doing to him at the moment. The dark haired man dropped a hand to prevent Kidd from removing his hand from him, "Keep going, or I'll change my mind."

"Mm, greedy," Kidd said huskily, hungrily bringing his lips to Trafalgar's as he sped up the tempo of his hand, drawing out a gasp and then a low moan, "I think I'm gonna have to take longer getting you ready then. The body you're possessing isn't used to lots of sex." With his free hand, Kidd retrieve the bottle of lotion that he'd used when he possessed Doflamingo, and coated a few fingers with the substance. Kidd kissed the side of Trafalgar's neck as he brought his hand down the curve of his lover's back, before it dipped lower.

Trafalgar's hands left Kidd's hair completely as he wrapped his arms around Kidd's neck instead, his pants and incoherent mumbling encouraging his lover's actions.

Kidd turned his head slightly to lay a kiss against the other's neck again, and panted lightly, "Fuck, this body is still tight." Feeling Trafalgar squirm, Kidd's tongue darted out along Trafalgar's throat, and down the curve of his jaw, "Good thing you like it rough." Otherwise, Kidd knew that he wouldn't be getting to stick his cock into the other man right away.

Trafalgar squeezed his arms tighter around Kidd's neck as he felt a second finger join the first, and he grit his teeth as Kidd dragged his other hand along his member playfully. Trafalgar swallowed roughly, before he drew back to look Kidd in the eyes, and managed to gasp out, "Mouth." He shifted slightly and lightly slapped the hand Kidd was using to prepare him. Trafalgar saw a confused expression pass over Kidd's face, and Trafalgar's eyes narrowed, though it was ineffective as Kidd had just slowly swirled his fingers with a grin. Trafalgar bit his lips and spoke warningly, "Eustass-ya…"

Kidd reluctantly removed his fingers, but he apparently hadn't done it quickly enough for his lover. Kidd felt the other man's hands reach up to either side of his head and thread through his hair firmly. Kidd was forced to let go of Trafalgar completely, and settled over him, kneeling between the dark haired man's legs. Kidd let his hands rest against the sheets just above Trafalgar's shoulders, to keep himself from just lying on top of Trafalgar. It didn't seem like such a bad idea.

Kidd stared down at his lover, still confused, and wondered why he'd been stopped. Trafalgar didn't usually ask for him to give him a blowjob. It was usually the other way around, as Trafalgar just loved to get him boneless and heaving for breath, usually so sated that Kidd would do just about anything after that. Including bondage and allowing the dark haired doctor to cut him with a scalpel or another sharp object. The body Kidd was possessing didn't have any scars on its back at the moment, but if Trafalgar took a turn fucking him into the mattress, Kidd was fairly certain the back would be covered with wounds by the next morning. His lover did have some odd fetishes, including an almost unhealthy one of blood. The red haired man frowned at Trafalgar, searching the other's eyes as he spoke, "Why?"

"You gave the other Law a blowjob, didn't you?" Trafalgar had Kidd's face only an inch or two from his own, and saw the other man avert his eyes at that. Trafalgar smiled, "It's good to know that you can feel some guilt."

Kidd withheld a sigh, "I did tell you that I thought it was you at the time." Kidd shivered as one of Trafalgar's knees bumped up against his crotch slowly, and did interesting things to his own member. Kidd fought to keep himself upright as he felt Trafalgar's hands run through his hair lightly, "And you complained about me giving you one that one time."

"Only because you were biting occasionally, and I had already told you that I didn't like that." Trafalgar let his hands dig more tightly into Kidd's hair, "But there's something else that bothers me more than you getting someone else off other than me."

Kidd blinked down at his lover, trying to think of what he possibly could have done that bothered Trafalgar more, "Did I ever tell you that you're weirdly jealous? We even agreed that we didn't care if we fucked other people when we couldn't see each other often enough." Kidd knew that Trafalgar was very possessive of him, and he was as well, for that matter, of the dark haired doctor.

"I know, but it wasn't something you did. It was something you said." Trafalgar responded, running his fingertips along Kidd's scalp, smiling at the faint sigh he drew from the other man. Or perhaps it was because he had dug his knee up again. When Trafalgar saw that Kidd was still more or less focused on him, the dark hared man continued, "What does bother me is what you said to the owner of this body." Seeing another blank look, Trafalgar elaborated, "When you said that I would always come back to you? Something along those lines?" Trafalgar saw that Kidd was actively avoiding his gaze now.

Kidd recalled saying something like that, but wasn't sure how Trafalgar had heard him, unless he'd shouted them after Law and they'd been within hearing range of the house, where the dark haired ghost had been lingering. Kidd avoided his lover's eyes, knowing that that one comment had gotten him into trouble. Though it was trouble only for himself, as Trafalgar was likely to find it more humorous than anything.

Trafalgar leaned up to kiss Kidd's cheek and tilted the red haired man's head, his tone teasing, "Eustass-ya." The doctor saw Kidd briefly look at him, before he averted his gaze once more and shifted. Trafalgar smirked as he trailed his thumbs lightly down through Kidd's hair, to circle them along Kidd's cheeks. He brought his lover into a kiss before he rested their foreheads together, his tone still teasing, yet there was a faint, dangerous note underlying it, "Since when did _I_ come back to _you_? I distinctly recall you barging into my home many times to corner me when I didn't come to see you. And you were the one who was worried that I was going to leave you in the first place."

Kidd still wouldn't look the other man in the eyes despite their close proximity. Kidd didn't like the distinctions being pointed out, but there was no use denying it now that the dark haired man had brought it up.

It made Trafalgar smile to see Kidd as uncomfortable as he was as he let his hands go back to playing with the other's hair, "Why would you say something like that when it isn't exactly true?" Trafalgar questioned, amused when Kidd rested his forehead more heavily against his own, and made a faint sound of contentment from the motion the dark haired man was making. Kidd was ridiculously adorable sometimes, which always clashed with his gruff exterior, and made it all the more endearing. Perhaps he'd mention it, if only to get Kidd blushing as he tried to deny it vehemently. It didn't seem to help because he'd usually end up limp, exhausted and satisfied on the ground or bed or wherever they happened to be having sex once Trafalgar was through with him. "Eustass-ya." Trafalgar's voice was still playful, but this time it had sounded more like a demand.

Amber eyes reluctantly opened to meet the other's gray ones. From the red head's tone, Trafalgar could tell that Kidd was faintly embarrassed.

"I can always hope that that was the case." After all, it had disturbed Kidd for some time that Trafalgar could get him to do just about anything, and the red haired man felt that he needed some semblance of control. Believing that Trafalgar would be the one wanting to return to him was one way of hiding the truth from himself, and it made him feel better.

Trafalgar laughed shortly as he turned Kidd's head again for a kiss, still running his hands through the red hair. Both were breathless by the time they parted for air, and Trafalgar smirked at Kidd, "You really are delusional sometimes." Trafalgar let go of Kidd and patted one cheek lightly, "Now, get going and use your mouth already. You don't want to be interrupted, do you?" Noting the rebellious glint in his lover's eye, Trafalgar raised his brow, "Seeing as you get to fuck me first, don't you think it's only fair that you suck me off beforehand?" Trafalgar smiled lightly, "I doubt that this body will last for long if you don't loosen it up more first anyway."

Kidd grinned at that as he slid down along his lover's body, where he rested his head against Trafalgar's nearest thigh. Kidd's tongue darted out along the hand wrapped around Trafalgar's cock, pleased that it made the other man writhe just the faintest amount, "Well, when you put it that way..." Kidd ran his tongue lightly around the base as he squeezed gently, drawing forth a groan, "I better do it then. I wanna hear you scream anyway."

Trafalgar dug his hands into the sheets beneath his borrowed body as Kidd worked him over at a relatively slower pace than he'd normally go. Though the doctor supposed that it was also because Kidd didn't normally get the chance to do it to him, "No...teeth."

Kidd hummed some kind of acknowledgment as he kept his mouth and hand occupied. The red haired man found it amusing that his dick was about the only place that Trafalgar disliked being bit. Anywhere else was fair game, and Kidd intended to take advantage of that at some point during this.

Trafalgar forced himself upright to lean over and bury his hands into the soft red hair again, his face against the hair as well as he helplessly held on. The longer Kidd ran his hand and mouth over him, the more Trafalgar realized that it was getting to him more than in the past. If he had known that this body was so sensitive, he wouldn't have suggested for Kidd to go first. At a particularly hard suck, Trafalgar let out another gasp, and pressed himself against the other more tightly, his hips moving forward as he jerked Kidd's head further down. The doctor felt Kidd mumble something crossly around the member still in his mouth, and poked him in the side sharply.

Trafalgar let up on the pressure, and allowed Kidd to move as he would, but it didn't stop the dark haired man from holding on for dear life to the other's hair. The stimulation he was receiving was more than he could handle, not having experienced it for years and years. Trafalgar began to jerk Kidd's hair occasionally when the other man went down on him as he slowly increased his pace, and began to move his hand in time with his mouth. Trafalgar writhed when his lover began to deep throat him, and let out a moan, twitching when he felt Kidd laugh around him. He hadn't expected Kidd to be so thorough with this. Trafalgar closed his eyes and let out a shaky breath, and soon felt that he was about to come. Trafalgar made some attempt to let his lover know, but it came out in the form of a thin groan and a tighter hold in Kidd's hair.

Kidd laughed again, and that sent his lover over the edge. Apparently all of what he was doing was finally just too much to handle. Ignoring the painful grip Trafalgar had on his head, Kidd reached around and squeezed his lover's ass, and held him still as the other came. Trafalgar may have been trying to get him to go at a pace he liked, but had eventually given in and let the red head set it. Even if that wasn't what the dark haired doctor had wanted. Kidd knew that it would come back to bite him in the ass if Trafalgar wasn't worn out after he'd been fucked. If he wasn't, Kidd was fairly certain that the doctor was going to pay him back tenfold and be a lot more vicious and controlling when he got his chance.

"E...Eustass..." Trafalgar murmured breathlessly against the top of the other man's head, shaking as he felt Kidd swallow. The dark haired doctor shivered as Kidd draw away from his member, and it took him a moment to release his hold on Kidd's hair to allow his lover to draw away completely. Trafalgar dropped back onto the mattress with a low sigh of contentment, turning to rest on his side as he tried to get his breathing back under control. With his eyes closed, Trafalgar spoke, sounding quite sated, "Mm, I should have had you do that more often." Kidd had been holding back on him before, and Trafalgar suspected it was only because the red head preferred the roles to be reversed in this instance.

Kidd, meanwhile, was gleeful that he had worn his lover out so much from just a fucking blowjob, and was really looking forward to seeing what shape he'd be in after he screwed him on the mattress they both were lying on. Kidd took advantage of Trafalgar's limp form, and moved the short distance separating them to spoon against the dark haired doctor, resting his head on Trafalgar's shoulder. Kidd looped one arm over the other man's waist, the other hand seizing the bottle of lotion and uncapping it, intent on working the other man loose while he was still relaxed and worn out. Kidd nibbled his way along Trafalgar's nearest earlobe and scraped his teeth over the earrings, before he closed his mouth over them. Kidd toyed with the piercing and skin, before he bit down and drew out an indignant gasp from his lover.

Kidd smirked as Trafalgar started to twist away, and released his bite to let the dark haired doctor roll over to glare at him in exasperation.

"Must you bite all the time?" Trafalgar questioned, even if he moved forward so that he could press his chest up against Kidd's, "Though I guess it's better than wanting to cut me."

Kidd sealed his lips over Trafalgar's to get him to stop talking, and felt the other man smile against his lips as his mouth parted to allow him access. Kidd hummed as he ran his tongue along, trailing two of his fingers down Trafalgar's spine slowly enough that it urged the doctor to bite his lower lip. Kidd used his other hand to settle against the back of Trafalgar's head to keep him locked in the kiss. Kidd titled the dark haired man's head to deepen the kiss, and trapped the other's tongue in a bite, chuckling slightly into the kiss at the moan the motion had caused. Kidd slipped the fingers down further and in, before Trafalgar could think to retaliate, and found that there wasn't as much resistance as there was before. Kidd began moving his fingers in a lazy swirl as he continued to drown Trafalgar in a very thorough kiss that the red head was fairly certain was going to leave them both momentarily breathless. Kidd took a quick moment to breathe as he mumbled against Trafalgar's lips, "I like all the sounds you're making." Seeing the glint in the doctor's eyes, Kidd grinned, "You know you make them. I'm not the only one who comes undone from this."

Kidd let go of Trafalgar's head and turned both of them over, so that he could pin Trafalgar's back against the mattress, "Think you'll scream this time? I love the little pants you make, but I'd rather hear you scream for once." It was rather disappointing to Kidd that Trafalgar would come nearly in complete silence, and that in turn embarrassed him because he could end up being quite a screamer. Even if his lover happened to like drawing it out of him, Kidd wanted to occasionally get the same from Trafalgar.

Trafalgar looped his arms around Kidd's neck, and held on just a bit tighter as Kidd began to use more lotion. After another minute of the man moving his fingers along, Trafalgar began to grown impatient, and he breathed against Kidd's throat irritably, "I think that's as loose as you're going to get this body. Take them out already." When he heard Kidd merely chuckle and continue to finger him, Trafalgar mouthed the crook of Kidd's neck, over where part of the bandage lay, and bit down, drawing forth an interesting mix of pain and pleasure from the sound of Kidd's gasp. To further encourage Kidd that he was ready, Trafalgar maneuvered his legs until they were wrapped around the red haired man's waist and dug his feet in against Kidd's back. The motion startled Kidd, and it brought him closer to his lover's body, and it made him growl something inaudible. Trafalgar kissed the side of his throat, annoyed, "Hurry up, Eustass-ya. I don't want your fingers fucking me. I want you." Trafalgar bit down on the skin beneath his mouth again, drawing out a grimace, and added, "If your cock isn't in me in the next minute I'm going to fuck you instead and you won't get a chance to do the same to me until later with what I have in mind."

Kidd hastily removed his fingers at that, knowing the other man was likely to do just that. He had in the past, and wouldn't put it past him to do so now, "Shit, you're so fucking demanding sometimes. I don't complain when you take forever to get to the point."

Trafalgar drew away from Kidd's throat to kiss him again, and tightened his arms around the back of the red haired man's neck, looking him dead in the eye, "That was when we weren't in danger of having irritating people trying to get rid of us."

Kidd dumped out more lotion to run along himself, even more aroused than before now that Trafalgar seemed to be in the mood to threaten as well as lecture. Kidd positioned himself as he rested one hand on Trafalgar's nearest hip, shifting a bit to get a good angle, "How would that be any different than what we've dealt with in the past? Someone always wanted to kill us in some way or another."

Trafalgar winced as Kidd started to push in, and for now, words seemed to be a good idea, "This is different. We're essentially spirits that have possessed living people, and for those trying to get rid of us, time is of the essence."

Kidd pulled back slightly when he noticed the pain etched on his lover's face, and wondered if he should have just ignored Trafalgar's threat and loosened him up some more, "But they won't be able to get into this room if they don't know how to open it."

Trafalgar's legs tightened around Kidd's waist when he noticed the hesitation, and glared up at the other man, "Take it out and you're done for the time being."

"Fuck, Trafalgar." Kidd couldn't think of anything else to say, and decided that if it was too rough, it was Trafalgar's own fault for being so damn impatient.

Trafalgar thought that Kidd was going to pull out anyway, and was about to demand that Kidd hurry up already, when the red head suddenly shoved forward roughly, and managed to bury himself with that first thrust.

Kidd froze again when he felt Trafalgar's grasp slacken around his neck, as well as the pained yelp that had issued from him. Kidd hesitantly looked down at the other man, "Trafalgar?"

Trafalgar's eyes slit open to eye Kidd murderously. The pain he could deal with, but Kidd's concern was something entirely different to him. He'd never really cared to ask before he fucked in the past, and it made Trafalgar wonder if there was something that was bothering Kidd that had made the change. Not that Trafalgar didn't welcome it. It was good to know that he could get the red head to stop if he really couldn't take it like he thought he'd be able to. To cover up his own feelings on the matter, Trafalgar locked his gaze onto the amber eyes studying him warily. From between clenched teeth, Trafalgar spoke through the pain he felt from where Kidd was buried inside of him, "Don't stop every time you do something to see if I'm all right."

Kidd narrowed his eyes back at his lover, but it wasn't done with malicious intent. Only confusion at the other man's words, and his own actions. Kidd had only asked because he still wasn't sure how well the body Trafalgar was possessing would receive it.

Trafalgar let out a faint groan as Kidd moved slightly, and he couldn't take it anymore. Kidd was taking too damn long for his tastes, so drastic measures were to be taken. Panting a little at the thought of what he might cause, Trafalgar let go of Kidd's neck to reach down and palm Kidd's balls in one hand, fingers digging in lightly, which caused Kidd to involuntarily jerk his hips, and therefore into his lover's body. Trafalgar used his other hand to seize Kidd's chin, and turned it so they were looking at one another again. Trafalgar deliberately trailed his other fingers around in a circle, drawing forth a faint, strangled moan, and one of Kidd's hands seized him to stop the motion. The dark haired doctor allowed Kidd to regain his breath, before flicking him slightly with a finger, and growled impatiently, "Stop overthinking things and fuck me already!"

Seeing the frantic nod from his lover, Trafalgar gave the red head's balls one more warning squeeze, before pulling away and returning his arms to loop back around Kidd's neck. At the first thrust, Trafalgar tugged Kidd down and into a kiss, harshly biting his lower lip in warning to continue to do as he asked. The second thrust was better, and the movement began to increase, and Trafalgar started to move his hips to meet the increasingly heavier thrusts. Trafalgar hungrily devoured the inside of Kidd's mouth with his tongue as the red head moaned into it and moved a little faster, both hands dropping to Trafalgar's hips to angle him up slightly. Trafalgar smirked into the kiss as he dug his feet into Kidd's back.

After he was no longer concerned about Trafalgar being in any pain from this, Kidd began to thrust more deeply in an effort to draw out as many gasps, pants and potential screams from his lover as he could. The dark haired doctor had finally freed him from the kiss, so Kidd took the chance to bite the side of Trafalgar's throat in retaliation. The whimper it drew forth was satisfying, and Kidd peeked out of the corner of his eye to note the pleasure that was written all over the other's face. Kidd increased the pressure of the bite, just to get another little helpless sound out of the other, before he let go to grin. Kidd lowered his mouth slightly to lick his way along the other's throat, before he gently scraped his teeth against the skin, "I love that you let me go first."

Trafalgar panted through the thrusts, holding on tightly to his lover as he was pressed further into the mattress below him with each smooth and heavy motion of Kidd's hips. When the dark haired doctor trusted himself to speak, he did so, and smiled darkly up at Kidd, "I'm only being polite, because I won't give you a moment's rest once I start with you." Trafalgar's hands roamed Kidd's abdomen, appreciating the way it heaved with effort. Trafalgar's eyes lifted to lock with Kidd's, "I want to toy with you. Make you beg. Make you writhe. Make you scream until you can't take it anymore."

Kidd's rhythm faltered for just an instant at the way Trafalgar had smoothly spoken of fucking him in a way that had almost sounded like a casual explanation. With a renewed effort, Kidd began to move against Trafalgar with desperate abandon, turned on by the very idea of what his lover wanted to do with him. It didn't take Kidd much longer before he came, and his mind blanked out for a brief moment. When Kidd's senses returned, he realized that he was partially pinning Trafalgar on the bed with his full weight, and from the short, gasping sounds his lover was making, along with the very nasty glare tossed his way, his lover didn't much appreciate him losing his mind momentarily.

With a weary shift of his hips, Kidd pulled out and dropped to the bed alongside Trafalgar, and gave the other man no time to oppose his decision to hug him to his chest. Kidd wheezed his laughter as he all but crushed Trafalgar to his chest in a hug, and apparently drove the breath out of him from the rapid, gasping pants the dark haired doctor was making. It excited Kidd to think what Trafalgar had planned for him, and decided that now probably wasn't the time to overly annoy him. Kidd let go of his lover to rest more heavily on the bed, and closed his eyes as he let out a pleased sigh. Kidd absently tousled Trafalgar's hair with a hand, smiling faintly when the other man inched closer to him, "Good?"

Trafalgar cracked his eyes open to give his lover an amused quirk of his lips, and rested a hand against Kidd's cheek, "What do you think?"

Kidd reached up and grabbed Trafalgar's hand, bringing the fingers to his lips to kiss, "Better than anyone you may have been with before me?"

The dark haired doctor shook his head, "Think you're that good?" Trafalgar grunted as Kidd snuggled close to him and wrapped his arms loosely around his back. Trafalgar freed an arm and patted Kidd on the back, "What do you think? If it wasn't mind blowing sex I wouldn't have stuck around, among other things."

Trafalgar may enjoy getting under his skin, but Kidd wondered why the other man had never taken advantage of having sex with anyone else when they were apart. The doctor only met up with him. Only him. But would that have changed had Trafalgar not died the same day he had? Kidd winced at the prod to his side, and relaxed his hold. He hadn't realized he'd tightened his grip around the other man.

"I know what you're thinking. What if I hadn't died that day? Would I have gone out with other people?" Trafalgar had guessed the other's train of thought, and guessed that he should have addressed it sooner. As in when they were alive. Trafalgar wrapped an arm around Kidd's back, "Let's just say that I would have been lonely. There's only one you, after all. No one could have replaced you after all we'd been through." Trafalgar scraped his nails against the red haired man's back, "Okay? Stop thinking about the past, and for now, shut up and let me rest."

Kidd ducked his face against the crook of the dark haired man's neck to hide the stupidly pleased yet embarrassed grin he wore from the other's words.

The two of them lay there for nearly ten minutes, before Kidd heard Trafalgar move out of his embrace and off of the mattress. The red haired man didn't bother going after him or opening his eyes to see what the doctor was doing. Kidd knew that he'd be right back. Trafalgar getting up and walking around obviously meant that he was up for another round. After all, he hadn't come after Kidd had fucked him, but as he'd given his lover a blowjob right before, he wasn't feeling too guilty about not getting him off at the same time.

Kidd rolled over onto his stomach and stretched. After a few minutes slipped by, Kidd finally decided to speak up, his voice still lazy and content, "What are you doing?" Kidd winced when he felt Trafalgar's weight drop onto his back out of the blue, and wasn't given much time to ask any more as a gag was suddenly forced up against his lips. Kidd blinked, but nonetheless opened his mouth to allow Trafalgar to shove it into his mouth, and secure it behind the back of his head. Kidd bit down on the gag a few times as he tried to make his jaw somewhat comfortable. Kidd felt Trafalgar's hands move away, and the rest of his body followed soon after. Kidd hadn't bothered to open his eyes just yet. Kidd felt one of Trafalgar's hands reappear on his back, caressing the skin slowly, and it suddenly clicked in Kidd's mind that the only reason his lover would have gagged him was when he...

Kidd felt pain flare up across his bare back, but the red head smiled around the gag. Trafalgar did love to make him bleed, and the only reason the gag was there in the first place was to make sure he didn't bite his tongue. Otherwise, the dark haired doctor loved to hear him scream and beg and plead. The last one was just a bit more humiliating than begging in Kidd's mind, even if Trafalgar teased him and said they were essentially the same thing. Kidd let his body relax, knowing that if he didn't, he could twitch and cause the dark haired doctor to dig the blade he was using more deeply than it was intended to. Since Kidd was in no danger of dying in this body, Kidd allowed the other man to cut him up with careful movements of the blade he held. Most likely a scalpel, as Trafalgar was more familiar with them. Kidd trusted his lover to not slice him up too much, or in a way that would incapacitate the body he possessed.

Trafalgar patted Kidd's shoulder in response to the other man going limp, pleased that he hadn't had to tell the red head to do so. It figured that Kidd would better remember things that inflicted pain than remembering some conversation from years and years ago. The dark haired doctor smiled as he made another incision along Kidd's left shoulder blade, and watched, partially mesmerized, as a thin trail of blood trickled out from the cut. Trafalgar began to make more shallow cuts, enjoying the faint whines and pained grunts that he received from his lover. Trafalgar didn't like gagging Kidd often, but he'd rather not deal with Kidd biting his tongue and hurting himself. It would take some time to heal, and Trafalgar wasn't about to cut short any kisses he could and would receive from the red head.

Trafalgar looked down at Kidd's bloodied back from the cuts that he'd made so far, before he lifted the scalpel's blade to his lips and licked the blood that was there, his smile darkening. He was going to enjoy this and so was his lover. Trafalgar was already fully aroused again, and he was fairly certain that Kidd would be again too, soon enough. Trafalgar rested the scalpel against an unmarked part of the other's back and cut along slowly.

Trafalgar was going to take his time punishing Kidd before he would give him pleasure. And he was again pleased when his lover figured this out, and tried to move away. Do anything to get Trafalgar to stop what he was currently doing and do something less destructive. But Trafalgar didn't. He wasn't about to give in so easily, but he did relent after noticing Kidd pressing himself further into the bed and moaning something incoherently around the gag. Trafalgar held the scalpel back and leaned over Kidd, dipping one hand beneath the other's waist, before it found Kidd's member and gave it a squeeze. Kidd pressed down against the hand, and Trafalgar merely held the scalpel against Kidd's back, so when he arched back, the blade broke the skin and went further than the rest of the cuts.

The dark haired doctor waited a moment before he rested the blade on the other side of Kidd's back, before running his other hand along slowly, fingers toying with Kidd's dick and letting him know without words that he had to hold still, or there would be consequences. Trafalgar traced the scalpel along Kidd's back as he started to run his other hand along more quickly. Kidd whimpered something into the sheets, his body shaking minutely in an attempt to not move in a way that would dig the scalpel into his body. Trafalgar kept up the little game for only a few minutes, as that was as long as Kidd could hold out against him. Trafalgar noticed that his lover was about to come, so he dipped his hand down and squeezed the base to prevent Kidd from having any relief.

Trafalgar smirked at the desperation in Kidd's moan, and decided that some begging was in order. If he couldn't get Kidd to scream for it, he was going to find some other way to make Kidd ask for it, "Do you want to come?"

Kidd shifted, his hips tilting forward slightly against Trafalgar's hand with a faint sound of agreement. He was unable to use words, but just knew that the movement wasn't enough to get Trafalgar to finish.

Trafalgar dropped the scalpel onto the mattress, and trailed his free hand down Kidd's back and through the newly made wounds, making Kidd writhe, "Then beg." Hearing the disgruntled snort of disbelief, Trafalgar let his fingers rest more heavily around the base of Kidd's member. "I could just keep you like this for a while." Trafalgar heard a disjointed moan of words that issued from his lover, and his lips quirked, "I can't understand what you're saying, Eustass-ya. Try again." Trafalgar leaned over Kidd's lower back, resting his hand against his lover's wounded back as his other hand kept a firm grasp. He watched as Kidd shifted as best he could, and tilt his head to the side to look at him. The pleading, desperate look in Kidd's eyes sent a slight chill down Trafalgar's spine, and he let go of Kidd completely to grab either side of his head to lay rapid kisses along his jawline, "I haven't seen that look before. I like it." Trafalgar continued to kiss Kidd, but reached up with his right hand to slap the red hired man's bleeding back, drawing out a muffled yelp. Trafalgar drew away from the kiss, "Touch yourself and I'll stop."

Kidd seriously looked to be considering it, but felt that whatever Trafalgar had in mind would eventually translate into pleasure for him. The sick son of a bitch just had to get off on making him bleed for a little while beforehand. Kidd propped himself up on his right arm to more easily turn his head, and bumped it lightly against Trafalgar's shoulder. Apparently, it was enough to get the dark haired doctor to take mercy on him and leave cutting him up any more for a later time.

"Hmm, cute. I bet none of the people you worked with had any idea that you were such a softie under your rough exterior." Trafalgar removed the gag as he wrapped his hand around Kidd's cock again, and leaned forward to cut off Kidd's response in a kiss as he made short work of him.

Kidd gasped against Trafalgar's lips as he came, before he collapsed facedown onto the sheets beneath him. Damn, Trafalgar was still such a damn tease, and still vicious as hell with a blade. Kidd felt one of Trafalgar's hands run through his hair before he closed his eyes to concentrate on calming himself down.

"Stay there. I'm going to patch up your back before going any further."

Kidd wasn't surprised, and managed to get his act together in time to not react too obviously as Trafalgar began to clean the many cuts he had made. Though the dark haired doctor slapped on bandages a little roughly, making Kidd jerk ever now and then at the different amount of pressure Trafalgar made as he took care of the injuries he'd inflicted. Kidd grimaced a few times, especially when Trafalgar flipped him over and onto his back, causing the pain to flare up, "Fuck. Do you really need to cause me even more pain?" Kidd was unable to launch any more complaints, as Trafalgar's lips found his, and Kidd all but melted into the kiss the dark haired man held him in. Breathing unevenly after the kiss, Kidd allowed Trafalgar to maneuver him up slightly to rest one leg over his shoulder, to give him room to work. Kidd propped himself up on his elbows so that he could lean back, and shuddered faintly as Trafalgar used the blood on his fingers to begin to work him loose, "Use the lotion too."

"I know, Eustass-ya. Be quiet."

Fucking polite sounding son of a bitch. Acting like he hadn't just cut his back up with that more than likely twisted smile on his face. Kidd heard Trafalgar grab the bottle, as well as felt the liquid it contained. Kidd kept his lips firmly pressed together as the dark haired man prepared him much more roughly than he had for him, but in an efficient way that got him to relax more. The red haired man had no warning, as not a moment later, Trafalgar thrust into him, the doctor pausing for only a moment when Kidd let out a strangled cry at the sudden intrusion.

Trafalgar leaned over and swatted at Kidd's arms, indicating for the man to stop propping himself up.

Kidd immediately did so, and let his head drop back onto the mattress.

Satisfied, Trafalgar began to move, accelerating his thrusts with each movement of his hips, using his hands to hold Kidd in place. Trafalgar grunted when Kidd's arms suddenly wrapped around his back and brought him against his chest. Trafalgar was about to scold his lover, if not for the fact that he could hear Kidd making encouraging pants and whimpers for him to keep going.

Trafalgar nuzzled his head along Kidd's chest, which heaved from the light touch, before Trafalgar wiggled his way high enough to seal his lips over Kidd's nearest collarbone as he started to thrust slowly, drawing out a satisfyingly low groan mixed in with a thin whine from his lover, whose arms were attempting to bring him down even closer to his body. Trafalgar used one hand to reach up and seize Kidd's chin, and tugged at it gently.

Kidd leaned up as best as he could, and panted into the kiss that Trafalgar gave him, and through lidded eyes saw the dark haired man's smirk. Kidd was confused until he felt Trafalgar pull out, as well as slap one of his arms impatiently. Kidd glowered at him, but at another narrowed look and insistent tug made Kidd grumble under his breath as he rolled over. He had a feeling what the other had in mind. While Kidd didn't particularly like it, he wasn't going to complain if it kept the other man screwing him. Kidd winced as Trafalgar seized his hips and hoisted his ass into the air. Kidd merely readjusted and braced his arms and upper body against the bed, and settled his legs more comfortably. At first being fucked in this position had been far too embarrassing and demeaning, and Kidd knew that Trafalgar knew that he hated it, unless he did something to distract him...

Kidd flinched as Trafalgar trailed his hands down his bandaged and wounded back, before digging in with his fingertips, causing the injuries to start to bleed through the bandages. Kidd made a funny sound between a yelp and a moan and impatiently kicked at Trafalgar with one leg. He missed, and the only thing it accomplished was for the dark haired doctor to drag his hands down Kidd's back more heavily, drawing out a pained yelp this time around.

"Behave." Trafalgar warned softly, "Or I won't stop the bleeding."

"Some doctor _you_ are. You sure you didn't get off on cutting people up for that sick, pink wearing bastard?" Kidd mumbled into the sheets, instantly regretting his words when he felt Trafalgar stiffen. Kidd bit his lip as he felt Trafalgar crawl onto him, and slide his upper body down the red head's wounded back. Kidd was distracted with the other man's cock pressed up near his backside, but any lusty thoughts soon fled his mind. Kidd hadn't realized just how dangerously close he'd gotten Trafalgar to snapping. Kidd felt the other man's breath against the side of his neck as Trafalgar hissed dangerously into his ear, "Did you say something?"

"You sure are sensitive about the weirdest things," Kidd muttered, and shifted a little to keep himself braced on the bed in the position his lover had shoved him down into. Kidd felt the other man's arms loop around his throat, and his aroused state retreated as realization set in. Dammit. He had _not_ meant to set Trafalgar off like this so soon. Kidd blamed himself for forgetting the little detail about his lover not appreciating being teased about causing injures when he was supposed to heal them as a doctor and a surgeon.

It more than likely had brought forth unpleasant memories for Trafalgar, of when he had been Doflamingo's go to man when he wanted someone dead and have it done in a believable way. Another reason why Trafalgar hated the blond. From what the dark haired doctor had told him, Doflamingo had brought enemies with him to the hospital, as 'patients', and had watched Trafalgar kill them however the older man had told him he had wanted them to be killed. Kidd had listened, mostly, to Trafalgar talk of being resistant to quit working at the hospital just because Doflamingo would rather have him closer and be his pet killer who would do anything for him. Kidd supposed that was partially the reason why Doflamingo had decided that he needed to pin Trafalgar down somehow and get him to leave the hospital for good.

While Kidd still did want to find out why Trafalgar had been cornered, finding that out now didn't seem to be the right time. Kidd knew that because Trafalgar's hands were now pressing up against his throat, cutting off his breathing and rather quickly at that. Kidd had an inappropriate thought that perhaps this was one way that Doflamingo had wanted him to kill people. Kidd knew he would have been turned on watching Trafalgar do it, since he knew Trafalgar would have enjoyed it if he'd seen him choke Bellamy to death in that warehouse all those months ago. Kidd's thoughts were drawn to his current predicament, as Trafalgar's hold had tightened, forcing Kidd to fight for every breath he got.

Trafalgar's voice was still that dangerous hiss, "I'll let that comment slide this time, Eustass-ya, but you know I hate it when you say anything about Doflamingo making use of my medical expertise." Trafalgar leaned forward as he tilted Kidd's head back and to the side gently, and took a moment to enjoy the other's air deprived expression, "It's a good thing for you that I like you better when you're breathing." Trafalgar closed the distance to lock lips with his lover and kissed him, smirking into it when he felt Kidd whimpering for breath. Trafalgar broke away, and all but commanded Kidd in a rather cold and icy tone, "Put your ass higher in the air. I want to fuck you until you collapse." Trafalgar let go of Kidd's throat, before he scooted back along Kidd's wounded back, feeling Kidd settle back down and do as asked, even if he was coughing and gasping in air at the same time.

Trafalgar gripped Kidd's hips and as soon as his red haired lover's breath evened out, Trafalgar thrust into him again, and began to go slowly and deeply, intent on dragging out a scream. Trafalgar rested his head against the middle of Kidd's back, where the bandages seeped a little blood. The dark haired doctor heard Kidd groan and no doubt clench the sheets tightly, from the movement Trafalgar noticed out of the corner of his eye. Trafalgar picked up the pace as he ran one hand along Kidd's back, before he dug a finger against a wound, making Kidd writhe and shove backwards. Trafalgar grinned, and ran his lips along the bandages, tasting the blood as he dug his finger along another wound. When Kidd gasped and moved back against Trafalgar's thrusts again, the dark haired man laughed as he held his other hand heavily against Kidd's hip, "You are such a masochist."

"Shut...up and fuck me...like you mean it..." Kidd gasped out, gripping the sheets and shoving backward at the other man to make him stop drawing things out.

"Who's being greedy now?" Trafalgar panted in return, but increased the rolling thrusts that he'd settled in on, driving Kidd to make a muffled cry and bury his face against the sheets.

"Fuck, Trafalgar. Quit fucking teasing me." Kidd's faintly irritated tone had taken on a note of desperation. He couldn't believe he was already aroused, again, and it was very nearly painful this time around with how merciless Trafalgar was being to him. It didn't help that Kidd was thinking about Trafalgar getting covered in his blood and grinning eerily as he continued to poke and prod his wounds.

Trafalgar used both hands to scrape down Kidd's wounded back, "If you want to come, do it yourself. My hands are occupied."

"Like hell they are." Kidd snarled, but as soon as Trafalgar continued to slam into him mercilessly at that comment, Kidd simply couldn't take it anymore. He had to relieve himself. His dick had sprung back to life as soon as Trafalgar had started to fuck him again, and dig his hands along his wounded back. The red haired man didn't care if he was a masochist or not so long as Trafalgar kept doing what he was doing. Talk could come later about making an art project on his back with the scalpel. Kidd shifted to give himself room, and wrapped one hand around himself, stroking along in time with Trafalgar's thrusts. Dammit. His lover sure knew how to get under his skin.

Kidd hadn't realized just how turned on he was by having Trafalgar messing around with his injuries, because it didn't take him very long to get himself off. Kidd nearly collapsed flat on the bed after he'd come, but he shakily kept himself in place for Trafalgar to finish, and felt the other reach his limit moments later. As soon as Trafalgar pulled out and collapsed on top of him, Kidd slumped to the bed, exhausted. Trafalgar remained on Kidd's back for a few minutes as the two of them got their breath back under control.

Trafalgar rolled off to the side next to Kidd, and ran a hand through Kidd's sweaty hair as he looked up into his eyes. The dark haired man tested the bandages around Kidd's head, "It looks like it stayed in place."

Kidd frowned, grimacing as Trafalgar jostled him and sent a low throb of pain throughout his body, "And my back?"

"I'll take care of that in a bit. I can't hold onto this body for much longer. I need to get more energy."

"This body isn't going to bleed out, is it?" Kidd's tone was irritated again. It would just fucking figure that Trafalgar had gotten carried away and wounded this body more than he had planned on doing.

Trafalgar smirked, "No, don't worry about it. It'll just hurt if you lie on your back, so don't." Trafalgar closed his eyes, "It shouldn't take me too long to draw out a little energy from that blond and this body."

Kidd was disappointed, but at a sudden thought, he began to grin, "Hey, Trafalgar." When Kidd saw the eyes slit open to fix him with a curious stare, the red head's grin grew, "I can still possess this body. Do you wanna help me play with your doppelganger?"

The wicked smile that split Trafalgar's lips was all Kidd needed to see.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Excuse me while I go flail in a remote corner of a room and wonder how in the hell I managed to write all that (and manage to stick in a little fluff, wtf). Seriously, I think this is the most lemon I've ever put into a story that isn't glossed over more. And there's still several more chapters of lemony stuff, with, you know, plot in-between. And I _think_ the next chapter is the curveball one by the end of it. Meaning this story isn't going to be ending anytime soon, because there will be some loose ends for the characters to take care of first. Going to have to change the summary soon when it gets to that point.


	27. Ch 26: Done Waiting

Law came to slowly, and was momentarily disoriented as he pieced things together. He remembered that he had gone back to the house to look for the ring...had gone down to the cellar to look for it...and that was when Kidd had jumped him and pulled him into the room. The dark haired doctor sat up and ran a hand through his hair, before he noted with trepidation that he was naked. And that was when he realized, all at once, what had just happened. The other ghost had possessed his body, and then he and Kidd had had...

Law shook his head as he immediately tried to push the incident to the back of his mind. The dark haired man had mainly blocked out what had happened when Trafalgar had possessed his body, but now that he was all alone in his own body once more, Law began to become more aware of his surroundings. Law studied the low ceilinged room that was dimly lit all around by candles, and that was when he heard someone laugh. Law froze in place, recognizing the voice that spoke to him once the laughter had died down.

"You woke up sooner than I thought you would." Kidd commented, and glanced to the side, "I must not have tired you out enough after the first two rounds."

Law turned around, and abruptly scrambled upright and backward up against the brick wall at the sight of a very alive Kidd, who was grinning at him. Law dimly realized that Kidd's spirit must have possessed Eustass' body, due to the bandages around the red haired man's head, and the way he squinted a bit with his left eye. Law turned his attention to right next to Kidd, after hearing a laugh eerily similar to his own. Law pressed his back a tad heavier against the wall, momentarily forgetting the pain he was in, and just how sore his body was, at the sight of Trafalgar's ghost faintly visible next to Kidd. It disturbed Law more because Trafalgar was mirroring the red head's grin. The dark haired doctor felt that he should try and run, despite the shape he was in. The grins aimed his way made Law concerned for his health. His mind was already past saving with the insanity he'd been seeing and feeling in the past several months.

Trafalgar noticed the other's eyes shift, and had an idea of what Law had in mind. The way his gaze darted around the immediate area made it quite obvious. It was quite laughable, really. There was nowhere to run while Kidd was in possession of his doppelganger's body. While it would have amused Trafalgar and most likely Kidd for Law to try and fruitlessly look for an escape, the dark haired ghost decided to stop Law before he could even try. Trafalgar drifted forward and prevented the other man from fleeing with his ghostly aura. It allowed Kidd to move in close to Law, and Trafalgar took the chance to drain a little of the dark haired man's energy for himself, further paralyzing him. The ghostly doctor wanted to be able to possess the other man again as soon as possible. Trafalgar exchanged a smirk with Kidd. He wasn't, however, opposed to the idea of tormenting Law a little before repossessing him.

Kidd got his arms around Law, and pinned the shaking man up against the wall, where he chained his wrists there so that Law was forced to stand. Kidd left the dark haired man to slump slightly as he continued to shake, and stooped to pick up the scalpel that had been on the mattress. When the red haired man rose, Kidd glanced at Trafalgar as he twirled the blade between his fingers, "Do you mind?"

Trafalgar shrugged and moved forward, partially to keep Law from struggling too much, and mostly to indicate to Kidd where he would allow him to cut the body. The dark haired ghost raised a brow at him, "Is this revenge for what I did to your back?"

"Nah, just want to hear this one scream. Since you don't." Kidd responded with a smirk, pleased when he noticed the scowl aimed his way.

Trafalgar finally shook his head, "Fine. Just do what I tell you then."

Law let out a faint sound when the scalpel rested against his skin, and closed his eyes, as if he wanted to block out what was happening. The dark haired man just wanted this to end.

-x

Hawkins and Marco forced the front door open, and immediately went for the small door that led to the cellar, as Perona and Koala followed after them. Marco tried to force the small door open, but it was stuck fast. Some otherworldly power was holding it shut, and it felt malevolent from what Marco could sense.

"Get out of the way." Koala stated, and ran up to the cellar door as the two men backed away. Koala took a deep breath, before she turned swiftly and lashed out with a foot as she roundhouse kicked the door, which cracked under the force. Bracing both feet on the ground, Koala swung a fist, and the door gave way, crashing down the stairs. Brushing off her hands, she placed them on her hips and turned to the other three, "What are you standing there for? Let's go!" Koala thought that she should have done that in the first place, but knew that she wouldn't be able to do anything for Law or Eustass if they were possessed.

Hawkins fixed Marco with a surprised look, though Marco merely shrugged in response, having seen Koala in action before. At this point, nothing the woman did really surprised the short haired man.

Perona went down the stairs silently, as if listening as she walked, before she came to the base of the stairs and spoke, "I can sense the spirits now."

Koala came down after the pink haired medium, and found the door without a handle first, but she couldn't find any way to open it. It was almost as if it were there for decoration, but from the faint sounds she heard issuing from the other side of it, knew that wasn't true, "I can't open it."

Hawkins and Marco tested the door themselves, but they were unable to find any way to open it. By now, all of them could hear something going on the other side of the door.

Perona came forward and placed a hand on the door,"I can sense Eustass, Law and Sabo. I believe that at least one spirit is possessing Eustass or Law. I'm uncertain about the other spirit. It's aura is a little erratic." Perona moved away from the door as Koala began to run her hands along it again.

"There has to be some way to open it." Koala insisted, but after another look, there didn't appear to be. So how had the ghosts gotten Sabo and the others into the room? Koala stepped back from the door, eyeing it intently as she shook her legs and arms out. Perhaps she could break it down like she had before...?

"We'll have to use something to break it down. Do you think there an ax in the shed in the backyard? Or something like it?" Marco questioned, as he reached out with a hand to hold Koala back by her shoulder to prevent her from trying to take the handless door down herself.

-x

Kidd had grown bored of Law's whimpers and screams from being cut up with the scalpel, so he dropped the sharp instrument. The red haired man reached up, and with a few deft movements, unchained the other man. With a grin, Kidd lifted Law up and pinned him up against the brick wall.

Law, despite still being in pain from being sliced up with the scalpel, had figured out Kidd's intention. Law tried to protest, but it came out weak and quiet, "Stop...please stop..." His voice caught as Kidd pressed him harder up against the wall, and noticed that Kidd caught something that had been thrown through the air. Law took a breath to steady himself, but when the dark haired man opened his mouth to protest, he instead ended up choking when the red haired man stuffed a gag into his mouth. It silenced any further attempt at protest for the time being.

Kidd glanced to the side at Trafalgar, "Guess I should have done that before. He complains more than you do." Kidd smirked at the scowl that the ghost fixed him with, before shifting slightly to keep a hold of Law, "Were you gonna help out or watch?"

Law squeezed his eyes shut again when he noticed that Trafalgar, the ghost that looked so much like him, had started to drift toward him. Was the ghost going to try and possess him again?

Trafalgar ran a hand lightly through Law's hair with his ghostly touch, and the motion made Law shudder. Trafalgar peered up at Kidd, "Are you sure you want to do it against the wall? What about your back?"

"It's fine. Just patch it up soon." Kidd grinned as he braced Law's mostly limp body against the wall. Kidd kept one arm beneath Law to keep him up, and shivered minutely when Trafalgar touched his shoulder lightly. Kidd cast him a brief look, before he turned his attention back to Law, and without warning, thrust into the dark haired man, driving out a sharp cry of pain, though it was muffled by the gag.

After a few thrusts, Law let out a low sob and flung his arms around the other man's neck, burying his face against the crook of Kidd's throat as he squeezed his eyes shut tighter. Law dimly heard both men laughing at him, and more or less tired to block out what was happening to him. Law managed to remain near silent, but he ended up letting out a muffled moan as Kidd came. Law gave a whimper of relief around the gag as Kidd pulled out and lay him down on the mattress, but doubted that the red head or the other ghost was finished with him.

Law lay still as he gasped for breath around the gag, and found that he couldn't protest much as Kidd lay down next to him. Law felt the red haired man remove the gag, but kept his eyes closed. The dark haired man wanted to block as much as he could from what was happening to him, if at all possible.

Kidd ignored Law for the moment as he addressed Trafalgar, as he had heard his lover say something, "Yeah, yeah, I know. Hang on." Kidd let out a sigh, before Eustass' body went limp alongside Law's.

-x

Kidd cast a glance down at Eustass and Law, "You don't think that they're going to try and escape, do you?"

Trafalgar rested a hand on Kidd's shoulder as he glanced down at the two men resting on the mattress, "No, I think they're too exhausted. Come on, let's go get some energy from the blond." Trafalgar glanced at the door, not at all pleased, "I think they're nearly here."

Kidd glanced at the door as well, before he narrowed his eyes at the sound of voices, "Yeah...dammit."

-x

Law lay where Kidd had left him, and was only slightly startled when Eustass spoke, though he calmed down quite a bit when he realized that it wasn't Kidd anymore.

"Fuck. What the hell was that?" Eustass' body was sore, and he carefully stayed on his stomach, as his back felt like someone had cut it up. This was not at all what he had signed up for while working for Sabo and Koala. He really hadn't thought much of the paranormal, and had mostly taken it as a joke. This, this was something far different, and much more dangerous. He had never been out of control of his body, and being possessed like that had been a terrifying loss of control. One that he had been unable to fight back against.

"Are you all right?" Law questioned, faintly amused when Eustass scoffed.

"Some ghosts possessed us so that they could fuck. How am I supposed to feel 'all right'?" Eustass looked around the immediate area, and promptly decided that he was going to ignore the fact that he was naked. "What about you?"

"I could be better." Law admitted, "I can't move very well." And he supposed that lack of movement was why he didn't feel the presence of the ghosts nearby. Apparently, neither was worried about Eustass or himself trying to get up and walk away. Instead, Law heard whimpers from someone else in the room, and wondered who it was.

There was a silence as Law and Eustass rested, both of them trying to figure out if they had enough strength to try and get away before the ghosts tried to possess them again. It didn't seem very likely.

Law thought that he heard the door to the room being banged upon, but it didn't open from whatever the people outside of it were doing. Law wanted to check it out, but his attention was soon occupied when Trafalgar came back to him, and Kidd repossessed Eustass' body despite Eustass' vehement swearing against the intrusion.

"You fucking son of a bitch! Get away from me!" Eustass uselessly swung an arm through the air, before he let out a faint groan and dropped to the mattress. He had fallen silent, but from the look of it, continued to fight within his mind as Kidd attempted to take his body over again.

Law's miserable mood continued when Eustass sat back up. It seemed like the red haired ghost was back in control of Eustass' body, and from the way he looked at him, wasn't quite finished with him. Law tried to back away from Kidd, but didn't make it far as the red haired man seized him by one arm and tugged him forward. The dark haired man's body was too exhausted to prevent that, and Law squirmed uncomfortably as Kidd turned him so that his back was to the red head's chest. Law bit his lip as he felt Kidd begin to finger him with lotion, and let out a faint cry of protest as Trafalgar's ghostly touch centered on his dick. Law grunted as Kidd stuffed the gag back into his mouth, and whined as Kidd pressed up against him.

Law gasped around the gag, shaking. No. Not again. He couldn't take this anymore. He didn't even have enough energy left in him to scream. Hell. He was in a never-ending hell.

Kidd merely chuckled, and was pleased when Trafalgar repossessed Law, as Kidd knew his lover was back in control when he thrust sharply, and the other man responded to the thrust by spitting the gag out and biting him.

Trafalgar let up on the bite to kiss the red haired man when Kidd wrapped a hand around him.

Before the two could enjoy themselves again, it soon became evident to both of them that the people outside the hidden room weren't going to bother trying to open the door. From the sound of it, they were going to try and break it down instead from the dull thud that reverberated in the hidden room.

"We should get out of here." Kidd muttered, reaching over for the clothing that he had thrown off before. "Fix my back later."

Trafalgar nodded, and rose silently, plucking a bag from one of the shelves and haphazardly tossing medical supplies in it that were still usable after all of the years it had been down in the room, untouched. Trafalgar dumped the bag near the mattress, and reached for the clothes that were on the ground.

The two men got dressed in near silence, except for the sound of the constant pounding of a weapon against the door. Kidd finished dressing before Trafalgar, and went across the mattress to task assist the dark haired man with his clothes.

Trafalgar didn't say anything when Kidd dragged a hand along his member before tugging the boxers up, even though he did shiver slightly at the motion. Trafalgar put his pants on, and chuckled as Kidd pulled the sweater back over his head, as the red haired man had trailed his hands along as well, and Trafalgar was forced to paw Kidd away, "We can have more sex later. You are right. We need to get out of here." Trafalgar glanced at the door, "Would you be able to get past the people that are out there without the spell caster banishing you from that body?"

Kidd smiled and grabbed Trafalgar by the hand, and led his now frowning lover toward the back of the hidden room, and only let go of his hand long enough to pull aside a shelf. Kidd stuck a dagger into his belt, and noticed that Trafalgar did similarly with a scalpel. Kidd opened another hidden door, and saw Trafalgar give him a funny look as he grabbed his hand again.

"There was another door?" Trafalgar didn't recall it ever being there, and the fact that Kidd had kept it secret from him was rather impressive.

Kidd smirked playfully, "What? I never told you I made an escape tunnel from my house?"

"No." Trafalgar said simply, but hesitated following Kidd into the darkness beyond the door. When he spoke again, his voice was full of trepidation, "Eustass-ya...is it an underground tunnel?"

"Yeah, it took me about a year to dig my way out a good enough distance from the house. Why?" Kidd glanced back at Trafalgar, and held on to his hand more tightly when Trafalgar took a step back.

"It's underground..." Trafalgar murmured, squeezing his hand against Kidd's.

Both froze as something whacked against the door, and this time, it cracked through the door, and they heard a feminine voice.

"It went through!"

"Come _on_, Trafalgar." Kidd muttered, and forcefully tugged the dark haired man with him, so that he could close the door behind them, even though it plunged them into darkness just as the other door splintered open further.

"Sabo!"

Kidd stooped, knowing that the tunnel he made wasn't exactly high. While it was pitch black, the red haired man knew the way. He's traversed it enough times dead and alive to know it well. The only problem was that Trafalgar had frozen in place, his breath coming out in short, gasping pants. "Trafalgar?" When there was no response, Kidd felt around in the dark until he came back into contact with Trafalgar, who immediately wrapped his limbs tightly around Kidd, trembling. "What the fuck?"

Trafalgar pressed against him tightly, and there was nothing sexual in the way the dark haired doctor clung to him, "Can't breathe. I can't _breathe_, Eustass-ya…"

Shit, so that was what was wrong. Kidd had been so focused on getting them out of the house that he had forgotten that Trafalgar probably wasn't going to like this particular escape route due to how he had died. Whereas Kidd knew he wouldn't want to be near any large bodies of water any time soon, he'd forgotten, briefly, that Trafalgar had been buried alive and suffocated to death. Kidd hugged his trembling lover to him tightly, and spoke firmly, "You're fine. You _can_ breathe. It'll only take us a few minutes to get out of here, and then we'll be able to put those people off our trail. Come on."

Trafalgar took in a harsh, raspy gasp and clung to Kidd tighter, shaking his head, but a sudden pounding on the door startled him out of his thoughts.

"Fire! There's a fire! Where the heck did that come from?"

"It's spreading! Get Sabo free! Get out of the house! Hurry!"

Kidd tried to free himself from the tight hold Trafalgar held him in, so that he could lead his dark haired lover along the tunnel, "I smell smoke. Come on, suck it up and move. If you don't, we'll lose these bodies." Kidd felt Trafalgar hold him for a moment longer, and the red head awkwardly patter the doctor on the shoulder, "Keep low, or you'll hit your head."

Trafalgar took a shuddering breath before he nodded his head against Kidd's chest. The dark haired man stepped back, before he reached out and held tightly onto Kidd's hand.

Kidd squeezed the hand in return as he stooped further and started to walk, "Just breathe. We'll be out soon."

-x

Ace stared in horror as the house was engulfed in flames. It was burning far more than he had meant it to, and he was disturbed that it almost seemed as if he had started the fire without the help of any matches. But that couldn't be. Ace froze in place when he started to hear shouts, and realized that there were people in the house after all. He had thought it was empty. Ace hadn't seen anyone before he'd come back.

Hawkins shoved the front door open, and left, along with Marco, Perona, and Koala, who was helping along an injured Sabo, who was half conscious.

"Sabo?" Ace hadn't known that the wavy haired blond was in the area. He hurried forward to meet the group, and seized Sabo, refraining from shaking him, "What happened?" Seeing the hastily wrapped bandages around one half of his face, the black haired teen added, "Are you all right?"

Sabo smiled faintly at the other, "I'll be fine. The ghosts were a lot stronger than I thought they would be." Sabo swayed in place, and Koala quickly moved to get a better hold on him as Ace assisted her, still in shock at what had just happened. Sabo looked over Ace's shoulder, "Wait..."

Who he wanted to wait was soon made clear as Ace felt someone size his nearest arm. The older teen stumbled as the person that grabbed him all but dragged him over to a streetlight, where he was shoved up against it. And saw who had done it. Marco. And he didn't look happy.

"What did you _do_, Ace?"

Ace gave Marco a confused look, "A ghost, Kidd, showed up at the hospital and threatened me and Luffy. I thought if I set the house on fire, it would do something." Ace glanced at the blaze, "I didn't mean for it to burn _that_ much."

"You didn't think to check to see if there was anyone in the house before you set fire to it?" Marco demanded.

"I didn't think that it would spread so quickly." Ace responded, and watched as the house blazed even brighter as it caught further on fire.

"Don't be so hard on him, Marco. You knew that he had the potential in him. Someone should have told him sooner before it became a problem." Sabo commented, leaning heavily against Koala.

Seeing Ace's confused expression grow, Perona supplied an explanation, "Your friend believes that your affinity for causing fires is because you are capable of pyrokinetics." The pink haired medium glanced at the house, "That would explain why the house caught on fire and spread so quickly."

"What?"

"Marco?" Sabo asked, as if expecting the other man to explain.

Marco sighed, but relented and let go of Ace's arm, "If you do have control over fire due to pyrokinetics, you can will the fire to be smaller. The house will still burn, but not as much."

Ace wore a doubtful expression, because the very idea was ridiculous, but supposed he could give it a try. Ace turned his attention to the fire, and thought about it being smaller, and was shocked when the flames receded, though some of the house did continue to burn. The freckled teen began to grin. Cool. He could set fires with his mind.

Marco almost shook his head at Ace's expression. It seemed that he would have to figure out how to get Ace to not abuse the newfound ability to set things ablaze.

Perona ignored the two men as she spoke calmly, "Something needs to be done about the spirits. I cannot sense them, nor have I seen Law or Eustass." Perona glanced at Ace, "Despite your good intentions, burning the house down partially has freed the spirits of being tied to this place." Perona looked around the yard, silent for a moment before she continued, "I don't sense anyone in the house anymore, living or dead. The spirits have been given free reign with the bodies they've possessed." Perona tilted her head as she frowned, "One of the spirit's original bodies may have been buried in the house itself, but at this point, I doubt that burning the remains would get rid of that spirit."

"And we didn't find the other spirit's body at the cemetery. Could it have been buried in the house as well?" Marco questioned, stepping away from Ace.

Perona exchanged glances with Hawkins, who shook his head, before she turned to Marco, "Neither of us can tell, but even if we could, it may do no good. The spirit that had been down in the basement...it had begun to turn into a more inhuman spirit with all of the time it spent alone and cut off from the rest of the world."

"We need to find them, don't we? To get them to stop possessing Law and the other guy?" Ace questioned, as he considered trying to set the mailbox on fire. He winced when Marco cuffed him upside the head. Ace decided that he really needed to work on schooling his expressions to not give away his thoughts.

Perona nodded, and pointedly ignored the argument Ace and Marco fell into, "It will be difficult. They've masked their presences from me."

-x

Around eight in the morning was when Crocodile received the news of a house he owned partially burning. He was not at all pleased when he learned which house, and immediately found a phone and dialed a number. He knew the other man would be awake by now, and was also likely to have heard the news of the fire. The violet haired man didn't even bother with a greeting as his call was answered, "Doflamingo, why the hell is the house I rented to Law half brurned down?" Crocodile was extremely irritated when Doflamingo appeared to be gleeful with the news, due to how laidback he was in his response.

_"I suppose that everyone got out if the cops aren't swooping down on you in your home?" _When there was no response from Crocodile, Doflamingo added, _"I can reimburse you for the damage done, and talk to Law about that teenager. You can never tell when those kids are going to do something stupid."_

Crocodile calmed considerably at that, and was more or less placated at the idea of having payment for the damage done. Crocodile stuffed a cigar in his mouth and lit it as he grumbled, "I'm not going to rent any of the other houses that I have to the doctor if he still has those teens with him."

Doflamingo sounded strangely cheerful in his response, _"That won't be a problem. I'll try and convince Law to stay at my mansion until he has enough money to afford a place of his own. The teens can go live with their grandfather again. I've heard that his place has finished with renovations."_

"Good luck with that." Crocodile commented dryly, "From the sound of it, the last place the doctor wants to be is with you." The violent haired man hung up on Doflamingo, as the blond's response to that had been laughter. Crocodile puffed away at his cigar, wondering what was so damn funny to the other man, but figured that it was more than likely just one of Doflamingo's many quirks.

It probably meant nothing.

-x

Doflamingo remained motionless next to the phone that he'd set aside. After a few moments of silence, Doflamingo sprawled backward onto his couch and grinned eerily as he readjusted the glasses on the bridge of his nose. The blond haired man was pleased that things were finally beginning to move along after such a long time. His patience had won out in the end, and Doflamingo was looking forward to collecting what was rightfully his. Something that he felt had been snatched from his grasp unfairly by one interloper that he'd dismissed completely, as well as bad timing and misfortune.

Doflamingo's smile stretched further as he settled on his couch. It was really too bad for Trafalgar that Kidd hadn't mentioned how he'd reacted to the red head possessing him. If Trafalgar had, the dark haired man would have already taken himself and Kidd halfway across the world and into some safety bunker. Trafalgar would have never gone to one of his old haunts, blissfully unaware. Doflamingo sat up and ran a hand along the table before him. He would change that. The blond's other hand tightened against the couch in a fist. Kidd and Trafalgar may have though that there was nothing from their shared past to be afraid of, but they were wrong.

Dead wrong, and both of them would regret not being more careful. Not thinking of the possibility that someone else could have survived as a spirit for nearly as long as they had. Waiting. Biding their time. Waiting for the right moment to strike.

Doflamingo had done his own waiting, quite more than most would have the patience for, and he was ready to make a move at last, now that things had finally been set into motion.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

A/N: I did say that this story was going to become more messed up. This fanfic was meant to be more about Kidd and Trafalgar in the first place anyway, so...there are two things for them to tie up before the last chapter of this story. The issue from the present (Ace and the others) and the issue from the past (Doflamingo). So this is gonna go on for a while. And an updated summary will go along with the next update.


	28. Ch 27: Complications

If Kidd had thought about the implications of taking Trafalgar through the underground tunnel he had made, he would have rethought his decision. Kidd believed that Trafalgar would have calmed down by now, but the fact that he hadn't made the red haired man feel he should have taken his chances with the spell caster. Kidd hadn't realized that the other man would be so affected, but knew it was his own fault for not thinking about how Trafalgar had died in the first place. Kidd winced when the dark haired man squeezed one of his arms.

"How much further?" Trafalgar grit out, as he desperately tried to remain as calm as possible. He felt short of breath, and his heart was beating far too quickly for his liking. He felt close to having a complete panic attack, and the only reason he hadn't completely broken down was because he didn't want to make it harder on Kidd to get him out of here. Passing out and losing control on the body wasn't something that Trafalgar wanted to happen until he and Kidd where somewhere where they could make sure that their body doubles couldn't escape.

"Not too much farther. We would have already been out if you didn't keep stopping every few steps," Kidd responded, already anticipating the fact that his dark haired lover's hand would tighten against his arm. It did, and when Trafalgar spoke, his voice was cold, albeit a little shaky.

"Be grateful you didn't die by being buried under dirt. Otherwise you would be stopping too. I don't want to be buried alive a second time." Trafalgar said after a moment, before he loosened his hold on Kidd's arm. He didn't want to keep delaying things. He just wanted out of this place, now, before he stressed out to much over what could happen.

Kidd snorted softly, and, making sure that he was stooped far enough over to avoid hitting his head, began to walk, "What? You don't think I did a good enough job on this tunnel? It ain't gonna collapse. I made sure that there was enough support."

"Over a hundred years ago." Trafalgar sniped back, and was rather relived for something to occupy his mind. He did derive enjoyment from arguing with Kidd, because the other man's comebacks could be quite entertaining sometimes. In that he sounded embarrassed on occasion. Trafalgar didn't get a response, because that was when he felt a small amount of dirt fall from above.

Kidd felt Trafalgar go rigid and inwardly swore, as he realized what must have caught the other man's attention. Kidd had felt some dirt fall on himself too, but it was normal if people happened to be walking overhead. To the dark haired doctor, it probably seemed like the end of the world was coming, as his breath had begun to come out in rapid, shuddering gasps. Kidd opened his mouth to say something, anything, to prevent Trafalgar from panicking completely, and in that moment of distraction, Eustass took the chance to try and take back control of his own body. Kidd let go of Trafalgar as he sunk to the ground, "Shit."

Trafalgar, despite having an internal crisis, had enough sense to realize that something was wrong, "Eustass-ya?"

"Dammit. Dammit. He's fighting back." Kidd cursed, scraping his nails into the ground, "I don't think I can hold onto the body. He's fighting back too hard."

Trafalgar peered in the gloom, and since he could see a faint light coming from further ahead, was able to see Kidd on the ground, "Can you hold on until we're out of the tunnel?" Trafalgar, while still aware that he was surrounded by dirt with the potential of a cave in, was more concerned that Kidd would leave him with his pissed off doppelganger.

Kidd shook his head, sinking all the way to the ground. He tried to retain control, but it only made Eustass fight back even harder, "Trafalgar...I'm s..." Kidd broke himself off that train of thought, "I don't have enough energy left to fight him down."

Trafalgar cursed. That was what he had been afraid of. Maybe he shouldn't have injured the body so much. It likely took a mental toll on Kidd, and that had taken his energy down low enough for Eustass to seize the chance to try and regain control. Trafalgar briefly checked himself over, reaching out his senses to see if Law was going to try anything of the sort. Trafalgar found the other's presence, but it was faint, and the dark haired man was satisfied. It wasn't very likely that Law was going to attempt to take back control, as he appeared to be too weakened to put up a fight.

Trafalgar stilled when he felt Kidd's ghostly presence appear next to him, and felt a light touch on his shoulder, that felt like a hand. Trafalgar sensed that the red haired ghost was annoyed at Eustass, and resentful. Trafalgar noted with trepidation that Eustass was stirring on the ground.

_'Can you hold on to the body you're possessing?' _

Trafalgar was half distracted by the question Kidd had asked him. "I think so." Trafalgar was confident that his mental resilience was far higher than Law's. Trafalgar was about to try and go past Eustass, when the other man surprised him. Trafalgar had been right. Eustass was pissed and not at all in the mood to play around with ghosts.

The dark haired man grunted as he was hit from the side by Eustass, and after a brief, and pathetic, in Trafalgar's mind, struggle, found himself pinned face down to the dirt ground. Trafalgar gasped, choking on a breathful of loose dirt. It threw him into a complete and utter panic as his heart raced and he started scrabbling his hands against the ground. As if he were buried under the ground.

Eustass squinted, trying to keep his eyes on Trafalgar in the dim light provided. Eustass made sure to keep Trafalgar held down, and reached back with his right hand to draw the dagger from his belt. Eustass, while he hadn't appreciated the ghost possessing him, was pleased that the bastard had thought to bring along a weapon. Eustass rested the dagger at the nape of Trafalgar's neck. The red haired man was tired and sore, and not in the mood for any more bullshit, "Hold still and shut the fuck up. You can breathe just fine."

Trafalgar stilled, and even though his breath was still coming in rapid, gasping breaths, knew enough to do as the other said. The dark haired man was confident that he could retain control while awake, but wasn't sure what would happen if Eustass knocked out the body.

Eustass felt a chill, and knew that it was the spirit that had been possessing him, "Back off, you son of a bitch. Don't even think about possessing me again!" When the cold didn't dissipate, the red haired man used his left hand to press Trafalgar against the ground more heavily, "I can knock him out and drag his unconscious body out of this damn tunnel."

Trafalgar squirmed, panicking as his head was pressed closer to the ground. With a slight tilt of his head, the dark haired man sought Kidd out. He caught sight of Kidd, and noticed that he was kneeling on the ground next to him, and giving Eustass a frustrated and angry look. Trafalgar coughed, which drew the red haired ghost's attention to him. Trafalgar made eye contact, and spoke, struggling to keep his voice calm despite all of the panic he was feeling, "I can't stay in here any longer. I need out. I _have_ to get out, Eustass-ya." Trafalgar closed his eyes, straining to keep himself under control, and felt cold settle over his head. The dark haired doctor felt his ghostly lover run a hand lightly through his hair, before the cold retreated.

Eustass waited warily to see if the other spirit would come back, but after another minute or so it appeared that it had gotten the message. The red haired man shook his head, "Fucking ghosts." He was going to get Sabo and the others for this. Eustass felt around Trafalgar's belt, and removed the scalpel, and dropped it into one of his own pockets. Eustass stooped and picked up the bag that the dark haired man had been carrying with him, before seizing Trafalgar and hoisting him upright. Eustass was getting out of this damn tunnel, and he was going to make sure that Trafalgar wasn't going to attack him. He did not want the other spirit to possess him again, so as much as he hated it, he would have to find Marco and the others.

Eustass pushed a rather compliant Trafalgar along, not realizing that Kidd was drifting along after them from a distance, waiting for his energy to return.

-x

Trafalgar was relieved to finally be out of the tunnel, but if he thought he would be able to escape, he was wrong. Trafalgar hadn't realize that Eustass resented what he and Kidd had done to him and Law. Trafalgar swatted Eustass' back, "Put me down. I am not going anywhere near that spell caster." The two of them were making there way along a quiet part of the neighborhood, and it was only pride and self restraint that kept Trafalgar from raising his voice.

Eustass tightened his left arm more tightly around Trafalgar's thighs, "Quit moving around so damn much. You don't get a choice. You're the ones who possessed us in the first place."

Trafalgar ran his hands along Eustass' back after a moment's pause, drawing forth a curse, "Don't tell me what to do."

"Shut up, you fucking ghost." Eustass winced as Trafalgar merely ran his fingertips along his back some more. Damn. Eustass really wanted to beat the shit out of this son of a bitch, but refrained from doing so, since the doctor was possessed by the man he wanted to beat up, "I hope the long haired guy blasts you out of existence, you psycho. Stop touching my wounds like that!"

Trafalgar smirked and merely continued to prod the wounds. Eustass would have to eventually set him down, and he would take that chance to run. Even though the body was sore, Trafalgar was motivated to get away. He could outrun Eustass if he had enough obstacles to put between them. What the dark haired doctor hadn't expected was for Eustass to be rough in his decision to get him to stop what he was doing.

At a particularly painful prod, Eustass decided to hell with not harming the other's body. He just wouldn't beat him up. Eustass was, however, going to make it clear that he wasn't going to take any abuse, verbal or otherwise, from a ghost.

Trafalgar winced as Eustass set him down and shoved him up against the nearest wall of an alley they were walking by. The dark haired man rested his head against the cool wall of the alley. The dark haired man wondered what the hell the other man was doing until he felt Eustass come closer and reach around his waist for his belt. Trafalgar shivered minutely at the action, but smirked as he decided to tease the red head, "I thought you didn't like being possessed and having sex?" Trafalgar wasn't sure what Eustass was doing, but twitched as his belt was removed. Once he realized what the red haired man was up to, he had no time to prevent it. Trafalgar let out a pained hiss as Eustass yanked his arms behind his back and secured his wrists with the belt.

Eustass, satisfied that Trafalgar wouldn't be able to poke at his wounds anymore, hoisted the dark haired doctor over his shoulder and started to walk again.

Trafalgar was silent as he sullenly attempted to free his hands. And while he did that, he couldn't help but think that Eustass and Kidd's responses to him were remarkably similar. And that he found it cute, as well as disturbing, just how much of his lover he could see in the man right now.

"I can't believe I left my damn phone back at that house." Eustass grumbled, which meant he'd be stuck with a ghost in the doctor's body until he found a way to contact Marco and the others.

"Someone is going to see us." Trafalgar commented, though he couldn't see any other people out at the moment. It would be convenient for him if some cops saw Eustass toting him around. He might be able to slip away that way, and find Kidd.

"I suppose..." Dammit, the ghost was right. Eustass guessed that it would be a problem for him if the cops or someone else spotted him carrying Trafalgar around. It would put a damper on him trying to find Marco and the others, and Eustass wanted to get the spirit out of Law's body as soon as possible. Eustass looked around the immediate area, and spotted a car parked nearby. Eustass grinned and headed over to it.

Trafalgar couldn't see what Eustass was doing, but obviously the other man was able to open the doors. It had just taken him a minute or so to do so. Trafalgar heard another door open, and gasped as Eustass dumped him into the backseat of the car. Before Trafalgar could say anything, the door slammed shut on him.

Eustass walked around to the driver's side door and opened it. He crouched down and fiddled with the wiring of the car. Within a few minutes, Eustass had the car up and running, and he grinned again as he slid into the driver's seat and shut the door.

"Are you stealing this thing?" Trafalgar wondered, and flicked his gaze in Eustass' direction, catching sight of the red head grinning at him. Trafalgar felt slightly guilty that he stared, but the smile made him think about Kidd. He couldn't remember the last time his lover had smiled in a carefree way, unless he counted when Kidd had seen him again after being apart for so long.

"It's only stealing if you get caught." Eustass replied as he pulled the car away from the sidewalk and started down the street.

Trafalgar gave up on trying to free himself and turned his attention to Eustass, "Don't get too comfortable. The Eustass-ya I know will follow us."

Eustass kept his eyes on the road, "Your creepy ghost boyfriend had better stay the fuck away from me." He was still sore, and Eustass couldn't even find a comfortable way to sit.

Trafalgar smirked, "He'll follow us anywhere you choose to go."

Eustass turned the car down a ramp, "Shut up." Eustass was rather surprised that the other man did so, but a quick peek in the rear view mirror let Eustass know that Trafalgar was thinking some nasty things with the way he was staring at him.

-x

Eustass really wasn't up for dealing with an irritable ghost. It was fucking weird to begin with, and the fact that the ghost was in someone else's body made it even stranger.

Eustass had made certain to ditch the car a half mile from his apartment, so that the cops wouldn't know that it was him that had jacked it. He had been picked up on some minor grand theft in the past but that was when he'd been a teenager and had been able to get off on lighter charges. With that thought in mind, the red head had made sure he didn't leave any finger prints behind, before going to retrieve the dark haired doctor from the backseat. Eustass had had no problem manhandling Trafalgar into the apartment, and had all but shoved the other man into the bathroom after freeing his hands from the belt. The red head had slammed the door in Trafalgar's face, and had set the other man off. He'd been cursing and threatening Eustass for the past fifteen minutes.

"Open the damn door!"

Eustass leaned more heavily against the bathroom door of his apartment, even if he winced because of the wounds on his back. Eustass was glad that none of his roommates were back yet. They would have likely been very confused as to why there was an annoyed, unknown male in the bathroom threatening to kill him or cut off his balls or beat him to within an inch of his life. Eustass had merely countered the threats by asking Trafalgar if he'd really wanted to damage his body if he wanted his boyfriend to possess him again. That had led to some interesting curses, and as amusing as they were, Eustass was bored of it now. "Shut up already!"

There was a short pause, before Trafalgar's voice came from the other side of the door, "Let me out of here now!" A loud smack accompanied the announcement, along with a curse.

"Shut the fuck up and take a damn shower already!" Eustass snapped irritably. He figured that Trafalgar would have grown weary of throwing himself against the door by now. The only reason he was making Trafalgar take a shower in the first place was because he was covered in dirt, and Eustass didn't want his roommates to think that he had been out burying a body or something of the sort. Eustass didn't hear a response, and after a few moments, heard the shower start to run, "About time." Eustass muttered. He wanted a shower as well, but knew he had to find some way to prevent Trafalgar from running off. He didn't want him to find Kidd and bring him back to try and possess him again.

An idea came to mind, and while awkward, would have to suffice until Eustass had had the chance to take a shower. The red haired man stood up and after making sure the water was still running, crossed over to the small living room and picked up the blanket draped over the back of it. Eustass went back over to the door to the bathroom, and waited, resting up against the wall next to the door.

Ten minutes passed before the water turned off, and Eustass tensed, ready to pounce.

-x

Trafalgar felt a lot better after getting the dirt off of himself. Normally he wouldn't have cared, but it had been an unpleasant reminder of how he had died. The dark haired doctor wrapped the towel around his waist, and frowned at the door. Eustass would have to let him out of the bathroom at some point, and he would have to try and get away before he could do anything. It was a pity that Eustass had taken his scalpel. Trafalgar could have caused some damage.

The dark haired man went to the door and turned the knob, pushing, and blinked in surprise when it opened with no resistance. He was immediately suspicious, but pushed the door open all the way. He expected to see Eustass, but the man was nowhere in sight. Odd. Wasn't he trying to keep him from escaping until the spell caster could get to him?

Trafalgar took a few cautious steps out of the bathroom, looking around warily. He took a few more steps, and was about to make a break for the front door of the apartment, when something dropped over his head. The dark haired man reacted instantly, but not quickly enough as the material around him was used to pin his arms to his sides. Trafalgar shook the material off of his head, but was too late to free the rest of himself.

"I thought you'd be smarter than that." Eustass commented as he loosely wrapped the blanket around Trafalgar. It wouldn't hold the other man in place for long, but it would at least keep him from running until he had the chance to take a shower.

Trafalgar glared out of the corner of his eye at a smug-looking Eustass, but for the moment, couldn't help but agree with the statement. He _should_ have known better. Trafalgar knew that he'd been thwarted, so he didn't even bother to struggle. Inwardly, Trafalgar couldn't help but wonder why Kidd hadn't shown up yet. He should have been able to easily follow after them as a ghost, and wouldn't have gotten lost for long. Trafalgar closed his eyes briefly.

Kidd should have already been here by now, as the apartment Trafalgar found himself in was where his old home had used to stand over one hundred years ago.

Trafalgar held still as Eustass carried him over to the couch and dropped him onto it, dumping the comforter over him and further restricting his movements.

Eustass offered another smile, pleased that he had outsmarted Trafalgar. Eustass retrieved a pair of pants draped over a chair, and headed for the bathroom, "Don't make a mess of the place if you free yourself. I have to pay for damages."

The bathroom door closed, and Trafalgar glared at it, as if he could set the man inside on fire. He certainly was going to break something now as soon as he got the damn blanket off of him. Trafalgar heard the water turn on, and knew that he didn't have long to free himself and get the hell out of the apartment. A few minutes passed, and Trafalgar finally freed himself of the blanket, and kicked it away from himself as he stood up and hitched the towel around his waist again. He doubted that it would stay up for long if he started to run.

Trafalgar headed over to the front door. He would have stolen some of Eustass' clothing, but didn't want to delay leaving. He wanted a good head start. Trafalgar turned the knob and shoved. But the door didn't budge.

It was locked.

Trafalgar swore and jiggled the door knob some more. It was locked. Why was it locked from the inside? Why? The dark haired doctor struggled with the door for some time, until he noticed that the water had turned off. Trafalgar heard the bathroom door open, and knew that getting away was going to be much more difficult now.

"Going somewhere?"

Trafalgar half turned, and saw Eustass standing just outside the bathroom door, wearing only the pants that he had brought with him. Trafalgar would have appreciated the sight more if he didn't know that Eustass was going to try and pin him down again until the spellcaster showed up. He still enjoyed the sight anyway. There was nowhere to run, and Trafalgar knew it, and so did Eustass, from the smile that appeared on his face.

"Gonna be difficult?" Eustass questioned, and saw a dark look cross the dark haired man's face. Eustass sidestepped as Trafalgar rushed him, and his hand snapped up to grab one of Trafalgar's arms, and held on tight, "Fine, it'll be more fun this way."

Trafalgar smirked at that, "Fun for which one of us?" The dark haired doctor countered as he reached his other hand around Eustass' back to jab the wounds there. The red haired man let go and Trafalgar put the couch between himself and Eustass.

Eustass matched the other man's grin, "Your towel's slipping." Eustass batted the pillow thrown his way to one side, "This ain't gonna work in your favor, you know."

Trafalgar knew that, but figured that if he delayed long enough, Kidd would show up and take over Eustass' body again. Trafalgar knew that he wouldn't be able to delay for long, especially when Eustass merely climbed over the couch and went after him. "Eustass-ya..." Trafalgar muttered, narrowly ducking out of the way. He hoped the spell caster hadn't come across Kidd.

-x

Outside of the apartment, Kidd drifted back and forth outside the front door. He heard Trafalgar and Eustass, but whenever he tired to enter the apartment, he found himself unable to. It almost felt similar to what Hawkins had down to prevent him from leaving the house property, but at least whatever this was didn't drain his energy. It was just inconvenient, because Kidd was unable to go and help Trafalgar.

Voices started to come from behind, and Kidd turned his attention to them. There were two people headed for the door he was in front of. Kidd drifted to one side to allow them to open the door, and was pleased to find that he could enter the apartment room if he kept close to the two people entering.

-x

Killer knew that Eustass has been tight lipped about what had happened to him after being caught attempting to assassinate Dragon, but the long haired blond wasn't sure what to make of the scene before him. It didn't so much bother him that Eustass was pinning down an unfamiliar man, but the fact that the towel the dark haired man wore around his waist was the only thing he wore. Killer shook his head, "Kidd, do you really have to bring people home like this? The cops are going to raid this place again if you keep doing stuff like this."

Eustass glanced up from where he had Trafalgar pinned down to the ground. He'd luckily been able to take the other man down before he'd gotten to the kitchen and the knives that were there. Eustass shrugged, "Trouble from work."

"Which work?" Killer questioned, wondering how a naked man in a towel could relate to a job.

"The one with ghosts. Not the job that I want to do." Eustass responded, resting more heavily against Trafalgar to prevent him from wriggling away.

The other man who had entered the apartment walked by, his pierced visage scowling at the sight, "As soon as I make enough money, I'm leaving this place."

Eustass laughed as he passed by, "Good luck trying to hang out with your idols from school. One of them is so fucking oblivious he probably wouldn't even notice you."

The green haired teen bristled as he stalked to his room, calling over his shoulder, "Shut up! I'm going to meet him this time! Nothing you say will change my mind!"

"Shut up, Bartolomeo! Go fawn over the pictures you have of them in your room and leave us the hell alone. I regret letting you rent with me and Killer every damn day! You're seventeen! You're not even old enough to rent in the first place!" Eustass growled, fisting his hand in Trafalgar's hair to further dissuade him from inching away.

The bedroom door slammed shut, and Killer shook his head, "You shouldn't antagonize him. He might actually pick a fight with you one of these days. He has gotten into some nasty ones at school, but no one caught him at it that's willing to admit it."

"Not gonna happen. He's too busy drooling over the fact that Luffy or Ace talked to him at school months ago. Why he likes those idiots is beyond me. The sooner Bartolomeo graduates the better. Luffy's fourteen. How can a kid that age be cool?" Eustass said in return, and glanced up at Killer, "Do you have your cell? I need to call Marco and get him over here."

Killer nodded as he glanced down at Trafalgar, "Where are his clothes?" He wasn't going to bother mentioning to Eustass that Bartolomeo was also in hysterics over Ace and how he was cool too, and was going to be mum on the fact that the freckled teen had been in the hospital.

"They're covered in dirt."

Killer didn't ask. He didn't want to know why that was.

In the corner of the living room, Kidd was bristling at the fact that Eustass was so close to Trafalgar. He was still low in energy, and decided that he would go drain some from the green haired teen that ha just walked by. Kidd hesitated, but drifted near Trafalgar, and, careful to mask his presence, touched Trafalgar's nearest outstretched arm. Kidd saw him twitch, and, after seeing the smirk, drifted off.

Trafalgar's smile widened even as he was forced to stand up.

Eustass was going to regret not getting the spell caster there more quickly.


	29. Ch 28: Unexpected

Doflamingo languidly walked down a staircase as he headed out of his mansion. He waved away the people that tried to engage him in conversation. He had assured each one that he wouldn't be gone for long, and would return soon enough to answer any questions that someone else couldn't answer.

Outside, the blond haired man oriented himself, and, after a moment of thought pondering each direction, went to go find where his valet had parked his car. The fool always put it in a different place, but if it meant he didn't have to do it himself, fine.

But it didn't matter that day anyway. Doflamingo had more than enough time to get to where he was going. And the tall man needed no backup, as no one else would exactly understand what was going on, other than himself and those he was going to go find and confront.

Doflamingo's lips spilt into a wide grin of satisfaction. They were going to be quite surprised.

-x

Eustass had been relieved that Killer had asked no questions about the bandages that were wrapped around his head. The red head could tell, however, from the other man's body language that he was more than likely going to ask later.

Eustass flicked his gaze at the closed front door of the apartment, before turning his attention to Trafalgar, who had seen it fit to make himself at home in Eustass' living room. Eustass narrowed his eyes at the smirking man on the couch, stretched out and apparently deeming the place his own space.

Bastard.

Trafalgar returned the gaze steadily, letting his smirk deepen a bit, before he rested more heavily against the couch and closed his eyes. He figured that Kidd would soon be done gathering energy, and would repossess Eustass' body. So, the dark haired man felt no need to flee as much as he had before. It would be pointless and a waste of his own energy. Not that Law seemed to be in any shape to fight back against him at the moment anyway. Trafalgar heard footsteps approaching him, and his lips twitched in another smile as he kept his eyes closed, "I thought you were going to make sure that I didn't try to run away before the spell caster could get here?"

"You don't seem to be in a hurry. Did your ghost boyfriend come into my apartment?" Eustass glanced around, but when he didn't feel any unnatural cold, decided not to think about it. For now, Eustass didn't want to take his eyes off of Trafalgar, in case the other man was up to something. Eustass was fairly certain he could easily overpower the other man like he had before, if he had to.

"Maybe. I don't think I'll tell you. You'll just have to wait and wonder." Trafalgar opened his eyes when the footsteps came even closer, and he tilted his head slightly to see Eustass standing a few feet from him and eying him suspiciously. The dark haired man smiled a little more obviously, but chose to say nothing.

All the smug smiling was starting to get on Eustass' nerves. The other man obviously knew he was in trouble as soon as Killer got back with Hawkins, but was treating it as not that big of a deal. Which made Eustass assume that the other ghost _was_ somewhere in his apartment, and biding its time, waiting for the right moment to strike.

Eustass twitched when his cell phone went off in the kitchen, and he inwardly swore for leaving it there. The red head exchanged glances with Trafalgar, who merely turned over to face away from him, speaking in a teasing tone, "Aren't you going to get it? Or do you think I'm going to try and make a break for it?" Eustass' jaw set.

Skinny little prick.

Eustass backed away, making sure to keep his attention on Trafalgar as he inched backward to his ringing cell phone. Eustass was never going to leave the damn thing at home ever again. He wouldn't be dealing with a possessed doctor right now if he had brought it. The red haired man turned away briefly and answered his cell, "Killer?"

'_There's a bit of a problem, Kidd.'_

Eustass peeked over at Trafalgar, and found that the other man was still facing away from him, "What?"

'_I'm across the street from the police station. There're questioning the people you're working with, and the long haired man, Hawkins. It doesn't seem like they're going to be getting out anytime soon.'_

"Damn." Eustass had hoped that there wouldn't be anything like that, but the fact that the house seemed to have been set on fire, it made sense. Eustass could have sworn that Trafalgar shifted slightly, like he was holding something, but the next moment, Eustass decided he must have been imagining it.

'_Kidd?'_

"Yeah, what is it?" Eustass asked distractedly.

'_Do you want me to wait here and tell one of them to come here once they're out?'_

Eustass thought about it for a moment, before deciding that it wouldn't be good to be alone for too long with the psycho ghost that'd been taunting him, "No, come back here for now. I can try calling them later. Who knows how the hell long the cops will take questioning them." Eustass would know, and had never again tried lifting supplies from a mechanic shop ever again. Eustass definitely saw a movement this time from the dark haired man, but couldn't figure out what the hell Trafalgar was doing, "I'll see you soon then." Eustass hung up and pocketed his cell phone, and decided that it would take Killer a good half hour to get back, and longer if he had to wait for the bus he'd taken in the first place.

Eustass' eyes settled on Trafalgar. He needed to make sure that he wouldn't try anything funny. Eustass looked away briefly, and his eyes landed on the belt that he had used before to restrain Trafalgar's wrists behind his back. Eustass picked it up, and crossed the room swiftly. If he could catch the other man by surprise, it would make this easier...

Eustass froze in place at the feeling of a sharp object against his throat. The red head made eye contact with Trafalgar, whose eyes were narrowed faintly. Shit. That son of a bitch had moved too quickly.

Trafalgar held the knife he'd snuck from Eustass' belt more heavily up against the red head's throat, "Step back." The dark haired man had figured that Eustass would try something like this, based on the half of the conversation he had overheard. Trafalgar eyed the belt, "And give me that."

Eustass grit his teeth, not vey inclined to do so, but with a nick of the knife against his throat, the red haired man grudgingly lifted the hand that held the belt.

"Go back another two steps."

The knife angled across his throat as Eustass backed up, and Trafalgar took the belt as he stood. Damn. Eustass sure hoped that Killer caught the bus right away, because this was not at all how he wanted to spend his time. He had hoped for a short nap after taking care of Trafalgar and making sure he couldn't escape.

Trafalgar nudged the knife against the skin again and smirked ever so slightly at the angry glare the other man fixed him with, "Put your wrists out." Seeing the glare intensify, the dark haired man poked the knife warningly, "Now." Kidd sure was taking his damn time. Trafalgar knew he would have already been done regaining lost energy if he had been in Kidd's place. He supposed that Kidd was still gathering energy, but that meant that he needed to make sure that Eustass didn't do anything to him. Like be restrained. It would be a problem if his blond roommate returned before Kidd had been able to repossess Eustass. As much as Trafalgar wanted to, he supposed he and Kidd would have to leave the apartment immediately and find somewhere else to go for the time being.

And preferably before Killer returned.

Trafalgar was about to drop the knife so he could use both hands to capture Eustass' wrists with the belt, when Eustass' hands suddenly dropped. Trafalgar was about to jab the knife, when he realized that Eustass' eyes were closed and he seemed to be unaware of the dark haired doctor. Trafalgar slowly took a step back and lowered the knife as he watched. Eustass stumbled back a few steps, where his left hand shot out to steady himself with the back of a chair, his right hand going to his head as he let out a shaky breath, his whole body shaking. He seemed to be having trouble standing upright. Trafalgar smiled, satisfied. It was about time Kidd came out and dealt with Eustass. As much as it amused him to taunt Eustass, Trafalgar preferred to do that with his lover.

Trafalgar kept the knife in hand as he waited, and it seemed like there was more of a struggle this time, as Eustass would let out an occasional growl or curse, before falling silent. A few times he nearly fell over onto the ground, but remained standing by hanging onto the back of the chair with his left hand to keep himself upright. Trafalgar relaxed ever so slightly when it seemed like there wasn't as much as an outward struggle, and became an internal one. The whole action had barely lasted a minute, and soon the red head straightened himself up and let out a long, drawn out sigh.

"Eustass-ya?" Trafalgar questioned, lowering the knife some more. The dark haired man grunted as Kidd came forward and seized his wrist, the hand that he was using to hold the blade. "Eustass-ya…" Trafalgar bit off his statement that they should go when Kidd's tongue darted out to lick his wrist, before he nipped lightly, forcing the dark haired man to let go of the blade in surprise. Trafalgar's eyes closed as Kidd's other hand slid up his side, and decided that they had a brief amount of time to do something.

Trafalgar freed his hand and moved forward to wrap his arms around Kidd's neck. The dark haired man murmured something, but it came out a garbled noise as the red head had just maneuvered him backward and dropped them both onto the couch with him beneath. Trafalgar let go and shoved his hands against Kidd's chest, "What the hell are you doing, Eustass-ya? You're going to crush me." Peeved at the other's carelessness, Trafalgar nonetheless allowed his lover to turn him over so that Kidd could press down against him, resting his head to nuzzle along the nape of Trafalgar's neck.

"You're being rather quiet. Are you still fighting with the other you in your head?" Trafalgar felt a faint nod, before he felt Kidd nuzzle his way to his shoulder, where he began to mouth the side of his neck. Trafalgar trembled faintly, before he gave in and arced his back against Kidd's chest, "If you're going to do something, do it. We need to leave sooner rather than later." He heard Kidd make some noise of assent, before the dark haired man was again surprised as Kidd looped one arm around his waist and dragged him forward so that his upper chest was against the armrest, and his knees were resting on the couch cushion.

Trafalgar was about to demand what Kidd thought he was doing, when the red head pressed up against him from behind, and pinned him there. Trafalgar sighed and reached back with his arms when Kidd waited a few moments too long for his liking, "Seriously, Eustass-ya, if you're having that much trouble with your doppelganger, then wait before you..." Trafalgar gasped as his arms were harshly pulled further back, silencing him. Through the pain that went with the movement, Trafalgar realized that the belt he had dropped when Kidd had seized him was being used to restrain his forearms, where it was then knotted around his wrists. Trafalgar's eyes flew open in shock. No. It couldn't be. Wasn't Kidd…?

"Damn, I didn't think you would actually fall for that."

Trafalgar felt fury rise within him. He wasn't prone to angry outbursts often, but this...this deserved some anger, "You bastard! You tricked me!" Trafalgar shivered ever so lightly as Eustass, and not Kidd, pressed up against him from behind, bringing Trafalgar's bound arms up against his chest so that Eustass could rest his chin on the other man's shoulder.

"Yeah, I did, and you fell for it. Am I really not that much different from your boyfriend if I don't say anything?" Eustass wasn't sure what to make of that, and promptly decided to not think about what he'd just done. It had been a rather low-blow trick to pull on the other man.

"Untie me you...!" Trafalgar stopped talking abruptly when he felt Eustass' breath against the side of his throat, and was acutely aware of just how closely Eustass' was still pressed up against him. While he was still frustrated with himself for falling right into a terrible excuse of a trap, the dark haired man couldn't help but become faintly amused, his anger dissipating slightly when he realized that Eustass wasn't quite indifferent to what he had been doing to him. Trafalgar moved his body backward up against Eustass, smiling faintly at the red head tightening his grasp on his belt bound arms, "Oh? What's this?"

Eustass leaned back slightly, "Shut up, you fucking ghost. I think I'm just going to leave you in the bathroom. Killer can help me keep an eye on you when he gets back." Eustass fell silent when he realized that Trafalgar scooted back slightly to press back up against him again. The red head was rather embarrassed to find that he had become half aroused in that brief amount of play acting. Shit. And Trafalgar seemed to know it, if the fact that his smugness had returned with a vengeance.

"You sure you don't want to do anything while you have me like this? I doubt you'll be doing anything else once the Eustass-ya I know possesses you again." Trafalgar commented, coyly lifting a leg to bump against Eustass', his back pressing up against Eustass' chest as heavily as he could. Trafalgar could feel where Eustass was pressed up against him, and wondered if the other man was tempted. It would certainly lower his defenses when Kidd finally did come out of the other room. Seriously, his lover was taking a long time. Trafalgar was very surprised when Eustass merely let go of him altogether and pushed away from him. Trafalgar half twisted to see Eustass give him a look of contempt.

"I may not have many morals, but I ain't gonna have sex with someone when the person whose body it is isn't in charge." Eustass looked away, "If it was actually your body, I might have, just to shut you up."

Trafalgar watched, still surprised, as Eustass retreated into the bathroom, and watched as the door shut. Trafalgar blinked. Eustass certainly had more self-restraint than Kidd did. Trafalgar felt a cool breeze caress him, and he turned his attention to the barely visible apparition of his lover, "About time. Hurry up and possess him." Trafalgar's lips quirked, "I think he's taking care of himself in the bathroom." Feeling the question but not actually really hearing it, Trafalgar responded, "He got pretty turned on pretending to be you to trick me into letting my guard down." Trafalgar got the feeling Kidd was looking him over, and the way the belt held his arms behind his back.

Trafalgar heard the laughter, and narrowed his eyes, "Just go possess him already. We need to get out of here before his roommate comes back." Kidd's cold presence retreated, and Trafalgar smiled, pleased, when Eustass started to curse. He rested his head against the couch, staring at the bathroom door, and waited perhaps a minute, before the bathroom door opened. Trafalgar pushed himself up into a seated position as he watched the red head come out of the bathroom and approach him. Trafalgar kept quiet until the other man reached the couch, and eyed him silently. As soon as their eyes met, Trafalgar relaxed, resting his head back against the couch cushion, "Do you have a better hold on the body this time around?"

Kidd stared at Trafalgar for a moment, but wasn't actually looking at him. He was thinking about the question. He flexed a hand, before he frowned, "Good enough to leave this place. I might have not be able to hold on as long as before, since he's found out that he can fight back." Kidd gave Trafalgar an annoyed look, "How come you're not having any trouble?"

Trafalgar was silent for a moment, but believed that he had the answer, "You already put a lot of mental strain on the other me for a few months. His mental resistance was vastly weakened by the time I possessed him. There isn't much fight left in him. Just a brief, pathetic attempt every once and awhile." Trafalgar turned slightly to display his arms, "Can you undo this already? We need to get out of here."

Kidd ignored the comments, and instead crawled onto the couch, and settled over Trafalgar, "And if I don't?"

Trafalgar locked eyes with Kidd, "I won't let slide why you're still carrying that ring around in your pocket."

Kidd sighed, but backed off and turned Trafalgar over to undo the belt. When he had, he wasn't at all surprised when Trafalgar twisted around and settled over him instead, resting comfortably on his lap as he drew the ring out of his pocket. Kidd averted his eyes, "I thought you weren't gonna ask questions."

"I only implied that I would let it lie. You just assumed I meant it literally." Trafalgar stated, before he put the ring back into Kidd's pocket, "I really only meant the ring for you to sell. You said you kept it because you thought it meant something else?"

Kidd briefly met Trafalgar's calm gaze, before looking away.

"Did you think I was proposing or something?" Trafalgar smirked at the faint blush, and inched forward to kiss Kidd, "You really are cute sometimes. What kind of pirate would want to get married to an organ dealing, murderer of a surgeon?"

Kidd leaned up to meet Trafalgar in a brief kiss, before he drew away and ran a hand absently through the dark haired man's hair, "Shut up."

"I really _do_ love how embarrassed you get."

Kidd opened his mouth to tell Trafalgar off, when there was a highly irate voice that interrupted him.

"Damn, get a room, Kidd."

Trafalgar gave Kidd an annoyed look, "You didn't knock the other roommate out?"

Kidd shrugged, "He was too busy staring at pictures to notice that I was draining energy from him."

Bartolomeo was utterly confused when both Trafalgar and Kidd trapped him in his room, but he did try to fight back when he realized what they were up to.

-x

Trafalgar closed the apartment door after Kidd exited it, "He shouldn't be able to free himself right away."

Kidd doubted that Bartolomeo would be able to free himself without assistance,"Where are we going to go?"

"Out of this place, for now." Trafalgar responded, and followed after Kidd as the red head headed down the hallway at his words. The dark haired man didn't realize that everything was going to start to come crashing down around him, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Trafalgar suddenly felt a strong arm wrap around his upper chest, and he was roughly tugged backward, which threw off his balance. The response was automatic as Trafalgar called out in warning, "Eustass-ya!" The dark haired man froze as two gunshots rang out one after another in quick succession, accompanied by a sharp cry of pain.

Trafalgar righted himself enough to catch sight of Kidd as he collapsed to the ground. The red head's right hand pressed up against his abdomen, while Kidd's left arm was limp from another shot, leaving him gasping and harshly sucking in air at the shock of being shot. Trafalgar stiffened as he heard a familiar chuckle above his head, as the arm around his chest tightened. It sounded like Doflamingo...but it couldn't be the same one from so long ago...

It couldn't be...

Doflamingo's voice was amused, "Too bad the two of you hadn't found each other sooner. I hope you enjoyed your little reunion while it lasted, as short as it was."

Trafalgar immediately set about trying to free himself from the blond's grasp. He would deny what was happening for as long as he could, "What the hell are you talking about?" The dark haired man went perfectly still and silent as the hot muzzle of the gun rested up against his throat, beneath his jaw.

Doflamingo's voice had turned mocking, "I'm sorry, let me rephrase things. Did you and your lover enjoy possessing your doppelgangers and finally being able to leave that house after all those long years trapped there?"

Trafalgar's mouth went dry as he swallowed roughly, his voice heavy with denial as he tried to keep his body from trembling, "No, you can't be the same Joker-ya as before! We killed you in the hospital. When Eustass-ya came to stop you, even though he'd been recovering from his injuries." Trafalgar struggled against the arm the other man held around him tightly, "Even if you had survived that, you couldn't possibly be here now."

Doflamingo was amused by Trafalgar's disjointed reasoning, as well as the uselessness of his struggle. Doflamingo had him, and he wasn't going to let him slip away so easily, "But here I am, Law." And he was going to make sure that Trafalgar knew that it really was him. Doflamingo's voice grew hard, flicking his gaze in Kidd's direction, "The two of you should have finished the job to make sure that I wouldn't be able to come back."

For once, Trafalgar had no immediate comeback. His world was spiraling out of control, and all he could think of was that he knew for certain that Kidd was in immediate danger. The dark haired man knew that Doflamingo would never have forgiven an outsider so easily, especially one that had attacked him, and that was confirmed when the gun moved away from his jaw slightly. Trafalgar held his breath.

"I would tell you why I'm 'still around', but it's a bit of a long story, and I don't feel like telling you right now. Maybe later."

"Why did you pretend to not know Eustass-ya?" Trafalgar felt that he had to keep Doflamingo talking, while he tried to figure out a way out of this.

Doflamingo brushed off the question, knowing what the other man was doing, as he mused aloud, "I had almost decided to try and keep the other Law away from that house when I was there and sensed your spirits...but I decided later that I'd rather have the Law around that I knew better." Doflamingo grinned as he felt Trafalgar shift ever so slightly within his grasp, "I almost didn't want to see you again, after what you did. I'm rather hurt that you'd chose to stay with _that_..." Doflamingo waved the gun in Kidd's direction, "...rather than stay with me and not have to worry about anything. Not even vengeance from people you took organs from, or the friends of people I had you kill." Doflamingo's voice took on an almost carefree tone, "I'm wondering, Law, was it worth it, running away like that, when you know that I would come after you no matter what choice you made? To turn against me that day?"

The gun moved completely away, and Trafalgar grit his teeth when he noticed that Doflamingo had it aimed down at Kidd. Trafalgar knew Doflamingo would shoot, but not right away. He had a point to make, otherwise he'd have already let off another round. Trafalgar winced as Doflamingo's arm dipped down to just above his waist and tightened to the point of being painful.

"Well, Law?" Doflamingo let his finger rest against the trigger od the gun, "I'm waiting."

Trafalgar bumped Doflamingo's arm, throwing off the shot the other man let off, and it was all the answer that Doflamingo needed, and the dark haired man knew that he didn't even have to say much more to let the other man know it, "Leave Eustass-ya alone."

Doflamingo's smiled, "That sounds reminiscent of_ that_ day. When I agreed to leave your lover alone, and even allowed you the time to treat his wounds." Doflamingo shook his head, his smile widening, "You did hold up your end of the bargain for the most part, coming to the hospital to see me willingly afterward..." Doflamingo grinned nastily down at Kidd, "It's too bad that he interfered." Doflamingo ignored Kidd in favor of staring down at Trafalgar's head, "I won't be making the same mistake twice. While I'd rather just kill him and be done with it, I suppose I could settle for leaving him here, as long as you don't make things difficult. Or, I could kill him now, and take you with me by force."

Kidd took a few breaths before issuing a weak laugh, "Don't listen...to that...pink wearing son of a bitch..." Kidd broke off coughing, not noticing that Doflamingo was aiming the gun at him again.

"Law?" Doflamingo questioned pleasantly, "Do I put him out of his misery, or will you come with me, and see if he can keep himself from bleeding out?"

Trafalgar shivered as Doflamingo's breath tickled the side of his throat, and knew that there was no option but one. The dark haired man let out a slow breath, before he loosened his grasp on Doflamingo's arm, "Leave him alone. You've done enough." And Trafalgar didn't just mean physical harm. He and Kidd had barely been with one another, and here they were, being torn apart again as they had been in the past. Trafalgar felt Doflamingo's arm leave him, before the gun was pressed between his shoulder blades.

"Then start walking, before I change my mind."

Trafalgar's eyes sought out Kidd's, and met the pained amber gaze briefly. The dark haired man tried to work in an apology. That this wasn't what he wanted, but he felt that he needed to give Kidd a change to survive. So that he wouldn't have to be a ghost wandering around aimlessly again. It hurt Trafalgar to see the look of bitter understanding in his lover's eyes, and had to look away as he began to walk down the hall, Doflamingo close behind and keeping the gun trained on him.

Kidd rested his head on the ground, and concentrated on keeping pressure on the wound to his abdomen. Again. He had failed Trafalgar again. Once in the past, and now. He hadn't been able to keep him away from Doflamingo. He felt like a fool for not realizing it sooner that the blond man was the same person. He'd had a chance to warn Trafalgar, and Kidd had ended up merely writing off Doflamingo's reaction to him possessing him at the time.

Kidd peered out of the corner of his eyes to see the blood seeping out from beneath his fingers, and pressed down harder. He needed to go after them. Kidd needed to go after Trafalgar. Get him away.

Kidd closed his eyes, aware of Eustass' voice in his mind, as if trying to tell him something. Kidd let go of the control he had of the body, letting Eustass take over, and found that instead of leaving the other's body, he remained in the other's mind. Kidd didn't care to think why that had happened instead of what had been happening before. He was currently overwhelmed with guilt, yet another emotion he didn't particularly like dealing with. The guilt of something that Kidd had told Trafalgar in the past. After they had fled the hospital after attacking Doflamingo.

Kidd had told Trafalgar that he wouldn't let Doflamingo or anyone else try and take him away. He lied. He had lied. Kidd couldn't do anything. It was exactly like in the past, and both times Doflamingo had gotten what he wanted, leaving the red head beaten down.

Kidd curled up in a dark corner of Eustass' mind, shutting himself off from the outside world to drown in his own misery. It didn't last for long, as a burning rage soon welled up inside him. Kidd clenched a fist. He wouldn't let things end up like they had in the past. Kidd, angry at himself for the moment of weakness, reached out to seize control of Eustass' body again, intent on going after Trafalgar and Doflamingo, even if it meant bleeding out in the process.

Nothing.

Kidd tried harder to seize control over the body he was inhabiting, but found that no matter what he tried, he couldn't do it as easily as he had before. In fact, he couldn't seize control at all right now.

Shit.

What had he done wrong? Did it have to do with why he hadn't just left Eustass' body to lurk around as a ghost? Kidd paced back and forth in the darkness, infuriated with himself, as well as Doflamingo, for landing him in this predicament by not just staying dead and gone.

Kidd let out a growl of frustration as the darkness seemed to stretch, and he could barely sense what was happening to Eustass.

What the hell was going on?

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

A/N: I wanted to get up at least one more chapter before I worked this week. Mainly because I wanted to post one with the new summary. Which will likely be changed around as I continue on with this fanfic.


	30. Ch 29: An Offer

Trafalgar had almost expected Doflamingo to take a shot at Kidd when they headed away down the hall, but it appeared that the taller man would keep his word. He hadn't made any indication of turning back, as the gun was still trained between his shoulder blades. Though Trafalgar supposed Doflamingo's word would only last as long as he went along with the blond quietly, and didn't resist. Until then, or at least until the two of them had left the location of the apartment, Kidd would be safe, or as safe as one could be with a wound to the abdomen, and away from any medical attention. Trafalgar almost wanted to go back, but reined the desire in. Mainly because the gun had just nudged him lightly at his slight hesitation.

"We aren't out of the apartment yet, nor are we back at my place. You don't want me to go back and finish what I started, do you?" Doflamingo's words were light, but carried a dangerous undertone.

Trafalgar faltered, but continued to walk. The dark haired man really wouldn't put it past Doflamingo to turn back now and follow through on his threat. Trafalgar was acutely aware of the blond man behind him, and while he wanted to keep his attention on Doflamingo, Trafalgar found himself distracted by Law.

_'Get out of my body!'_

As timing went, his doppelganger couldn't have picked a worse time. Trafalgar grit his teeth, fighting to hold the other Law back in his mind. Trafalgar squeezed one hand into a fist as Law's mental protests became even louder at the attempt to ignore him.

_'I know you can hear me! So get out! Now!'_

He couldn't lose control now. Doflamingo would likely use the loss of control as an excuse to go back and shoot Kidd in the head before Trafalgar could stop him. Trafalgar grit his teeth as his walk slowed at the mental tirade he was being subjected to. Damn. Why now? Why did the owner of the body he was possessing have to fight back now? Surely he would have noticed that it was in their best interest to...Trafalgar blinked. No, he supposed it would be more in Law's favor than his own to take back control of the body, since Doflamingo and Law apparently had no problem with each other. Unlike Trafalgar, who would rather try to take the bastard's life than be in the same room with him and more or less civil with him. Trafalgar stopped altogether, swaying in place, the thought funny somehow. Doflamingo and himself being civil was funny to him, for some reason, considering what had happened between them in the past.

Law was fighting back even harder, trying his damndest to get back in control of his own body, and Trafalgar could tell that he was not at all pleased with him for preventing that from happening. For now, at least.

And Trafalgar wasn't pleased with what Law had started to mentally shout in his head.

_'Doflamingo-ya!'_

Son of a bitch. What kind of relationship was Doflamingo trying to have with his body double? Sick, twisted bastard. Trafalgar swayed again, finding his control slipping some more, and getting angry in the process that it was harder than he thought to retain the control.

-x

Doflamingo narrowed his eyes from behind his glasses, and nudged the dark haired man before him with the gun again, "We're not outside yet." The blond reminded Trafalgar calmly. Doflamingo lowered the gun abruptly and reached out with his left hand to catch Trafalgar before he keeled over. Doflamingo frowned down at him, and almost immediately realized what was going on. He broke into a grin. It seemed like Law had gotten over whatever wariness or fear of Trafalgar he had had, and was, from the looks of it, letting the spirit have a piece of his mind. Doflamingo supposed he was glad that he had taken a detour on his way over, just in case. He wanted time alone with Trafalgar, and while he hated to do it to Law, he was going to have to temporarily make sure he didn't learn more than he needed to.

Doflamingo stooped, and picked Trafalgar up, his upper arm going around the doctor's back, and his forearm beneath his legs, where he could maneuver Trafalgar up to lean against his chest. Doflamingo rose, and, keeping his gun firmly in his right hand, made his way out of the apartment. The blond ducked into an ally, where he had parked his car, and sat down on a nearby crate, half resting Trafalgar on his lap, "Are you two arguing?"

Trafalgar was aware of his surroundings, but completely ignored Doflamingo's words, as he was trying hard to retain control as he argued with Law in his mind. He did, however, try and push away from Doflamingo. Before Trafalgar could start to protest the blond man's arm around him, however, he ended up squeezing his eyes shut and going limp against Doflamingo. It was too much to keep full focus on the body, so he chose to focus on Law and beating him back down. If he was able to.

Doflamingo merely readjusted his grip. He would have to wait and see which Law got in control of the body. It would be far more convenient to him if it was Law who regained control, but with the circumstances as they were, Doflamingo thought it more likely that Trafalgar would win the struggle for control. At least this time around. He had more motivation, after all, to keep Kidd alive and breathing back in the apartment.

Doflamingo frowned, the hand holding the gun twitching. He couldn't quite explain it, but it bothered him greatly how easily Trafalgar had given in when he'd threatened Kidd. It wasn't like the other man to display such defeat in his presence when he was usually so smug and ready with a quip to throw him off. Back in the apartment, Trafalgar had almost sounded...

The blond haired man shook his head and glanced down at Trafalgar. The other man was currently making muttered conversation beneath his breath, and sounded exasperated while doing it. Doflamingo's smile grew. He hoped that Law was giving Trafalgar the details of how the two of them had met in this lifetime. It would bother the hell out of Trafalgar, who had spent most of his living days avoiding the blond.

Doflamingo looked around briefly. He didn't see anyone, as it was still fairly early in the morning, and on a weekend, at that. He was fairly certain that the power struggle between Trafalgar and Law wouldn't last for long, and they would be gone before anyone started to poke around. Not that they would, as dubious an area as it was.

Doflamingo didn't have to wait for very long. In a matter of a minute and a half, the dark haired man's body relaxed, and the muttering stopped. He shifted, getting a handful of Doflamingo's pink coat as he did so. Doflamingo tilted his head, cautious and watchful, "So, which Law are you?"

Whichever Law he was holding didn't say anything, but pushed away slightly from him so that he could look up at him. Doflamingo calmly watched, ready for either one of the two to speak to him.

"Doflamingo-ya? What...?"

Doflamingo relaxed marginally. He was a little taken aback that it was Law, but supposed that...Doflamingo barely caught sight of the flash in the other man's eyes, and almost moved his head to the side too slowly.

A gunshot rang out, and Doflamingo's entire body went rigid, a small gash across his cheek all the sign of the bullet that had whizzed by him. His hands had moved of their own accord out of pure reflex. One around Trafalgar's wrist that had yanked the gun to the side to throw off the shot. His other hand wrapped around the dark haired man's throat, slowly cutting off his air supply and forcing him to choke. Doflamingo's smile threatened to stretch too far. Oh, Trafalgar was a shitty little brat, doing something like that. Devious, and something the blond should have fully expected.

Doflamingo took back his gun with a tug, before stowing it away. Keeping his grip around Trafalgar's throat, Doflamingo slid off the crate, before he pinned the dark haired man up against the ally wall. While in a terrible mood, Doflamingo wasn't quite far gone enough to actually harm the other man. The blond dipped his free hand into a pocket, and withdrew a tiny capsule, trying to not let Trafalgar see it. Doflamingo closed in and breathed against the other's face as he rested his free hand against Trafalgar's neck, his other hand loosening the grasp he had around the dark haired man's throat, "I guess you're the spirit from my past, so I suppose I'll apologize in advance to the Law whose body this is." Doflamingo jabbed the needle of the capsule into the side of Trafalgar's neck, and finished, addressing Law, "It seems like I'll need to talk to this one longer than I thought. I'll try not to damage your body too much."

Trafalgar felt the pinprick of pain against the side of his throat, and was very confused at Doflamingo's words, until he realized that Law's mental protests soon quieted, until they were altogether gone. Before Trafalgar could think too much about it, Doflamingo got his attention. Painfully. The only warning Trafalgar got was Doflamingo letting go of his throat the rest of the way, and Doflamingo pulling him forward with the same hand. A solid fist slammed into his gut, and Trafalgar's breath was driven from him, and he choked as Doflamingo stepped away and let him collapse to the ground. Trafalgar let out a rasping gasp as he tried to gather in air. The hit Doflamingo had laid him out on the ground with was more than likely going to bruise, from the feel of it. He didn't feel like anything had broken, and supposed that he was grateful for that. Trafalgar started to cough, and heard Doflamingo approaching him. But the dark haired man was still too out of breath to do anything to stop Doflamingo from pinning his hands over his head, and securing them there with something that felt plastic.

Trafalgar tilted his head, and noted that his wrists were secured with a thin material. He tested it, and winced when the hard plastic dug into his skin. He had enough left in him to glare at Doflamingo, whose grin was still stretched in either amusement or exasperation. Trafalgar knew he was asking for more pain if he showed any more defiance, and was furious with himself for missing with the gun. It would have solved at least half his problems. Trafalgar flinched when Doflamingo picked him up and walked over to the car that was parked nearby, but said nothing. He grunted when Doflamingo all but tossed him carelessly in the backseat of the car. Trafalgar hissed in pain as his hands were jostled as he landed face down on the seats.

Trafalgar rolled over to look at Doflamingo, before he tried to kick the blond out of reflex, but Doflamingo easily stopped the kick, and used the modified seatbelts to strap Trafalgar's forearms, waist and legs to the seat of the car, to prevent him from fleeing. Trafalgar didn't bother to try and run, and spoke once Doflamingo had drawn back, "Some new kink of yours, Joker-ya?" If Trafalgar didn't know better, he would have sworn that Doflamingo had narrowed his eyes at him at that. Trafalgar tested the strength of the seat belts holding him down, and then the zip tie around his wrist, before adding, almost flippantly, "I thought we were going to leave?"

Doflamingo laughed, "I was thinking about it, but…" Doflamingo flicked his tongue out to taste the blood across his cheek, "I think I'll take that bullet you tried to put in my head as defiance. Do you know what that means, Law?"

Trafalgar' eyes widened. Shit. He'd been so confident that he'd be able to get rid of Doflamingo then and there that he hadn't thought about what would happen if he missed, "You said you'd leave Eustass-ya alone."

Doflamingo's grin widened nastily, "I changed my mind." Doflamingo drew back to close the car door, his tone light, "Besides, I made no such promise in the first place. I only implied it." Doflamingo shut the door, cutting off an angry snarled response from Trafalgar.

-x

It was torture to wait for something like this.

Trafalgar was unable to free himself from the way Doflamingo had strapped him down in the car with the seatbelts. Trafalgar stretched his senses, listening carefully. Inwardly he hoped that Kidd would be able to hide himself, or even move far enough away from where he'd fallen. To keep Doflamingo away from him. Trafalgar knew that he was only fooling himself though. There was no way Kidd was in any condition to move so easily with the wounds he'd been dealt.

Trafalgar closed his eyes when he heard a single gunshot. It left him with the small glimmer of hope that Kidd's spirit would follow wherever Doflamingo chose to take him. Not too much more time passed before Doflamingo returned to the car, and slid into the backseat as he closed the door behind him. Trafalgar shivered very faintly as Doflamingo settled over him, if only to keep him pinned on his back with nowhere to go.

Doflamingo smiled at the hate laden glare Trafalgar had fixed him with, "Now what's with that look? Are you actually upset that I went back to finish off your _former_ lover? I find that very hard to believe. You only ever fucked, didn't you? What was so special about him?"

Trafalgar was silent for a moment. "I hope Eustass-ya possesses your body again. Then we can kill you properly this time. I can always find another body for him," Trafalgar said in an icy calm voice.

Doflamingo leaned down to rest his head against Trafalgar's right shoulder, and nibbled the dark haired man's nearest earlobe, teeth clicking against the piercings there. Doflamingo stopped momentarily to speak in as calm a voice as the other man had, "Your little red head won't possess anyone ever again."

Trafalgar turned his head away from Doflamingo's lips, "What do you mean? You only killed the body that he was possessing."

Doflamingo pulled back with a grin, and held up the tiny capsule he'd used on Trafalgar, "See this, Law? It's a new drug I had someone make for me in the past ten years. I believe it worked on you, so I used one on your lover before I shot him."

Trafalgar wore a guarded expression, "It doesn't seem to have done anything."

Doflamingo chuckled, "Fufufufu. Didn't you notice that the other Law isn't bothering you right now?"

Trafalgar started, before he reached for the other Law in his mind, but found nothing. Trafalgar's eyes went to Doflamingo's glasses, "What did you do?"

Doflamingo twirled the capsule between thumb and forefinger, "It's something that is supposed to suppress a spirit. There is a market for it for fanatics, and I've been wanting to test it. I wasn't entirely sure it would work, but it does appear to have a good side effect." Doflamingo's smile stretched, "It prevents you from drawing the other Law's energy." Doflamingo looked away momentarily, displeased, "It would have been better for me to have learned of it sooner, in case I knew I couldn't find you again. This body wasn't originally mine." Doflamingo glanced back at Trafalgar, who was eying him warily, and continued, "I ended up using up so much energy when I possessed my body double that I consumed his life force, his soul, in order to stay in control of the body. So he no longer exists now." Doflamingo angled a finger at himself, "So there's only me in this body, and it is mine. The only thing is that I can no longer leave the body as a spirit. And when I die, I go with the body, as I should have when I died over a hundred years ago." Doflamingo drew back further, "If I chose to kill you now, you would be stuck in that body, as the other Law is indisposed at the moment, and unable to retain any control over the body." Doflamingo let that sink in, and was pleased with the response.

Trafalgar let out a faint gasp, a look of horror spreading over his normally smirking and confident features.

"Eustass-ya…" Trafalgar breathed, momentarily forgetting about Doflamingo crouched and looming over him. Then, all at once, Trafalgar strained against the restraints that held him, snapping as he snarled at Doflamingo, "You son of a bitch! You…mpf!" Trafalgar's response was cut off as Doflamingo drowned him in a kiss, and he felt, and heard, Doflamingo chuckle at him in amusement. Trafalgar growled something and bit down, causing the blond to jerk away from the kiss. Gasping for breath again, Trafalgar turned his head to look anywhere but at Doflamingo, "You're lying."

Doflamingo blinked, head tilting, "Why would I do that?"

Trafalgar resisted trying to kick the other man again, "Because you're sick."

Doflamingo snorted at that, "No, you're the twisted one." Doflamingo drew something out of his pants pocket and held it up. It was a gold and silver ring, partially covered in some blood. It was rather satisfying to see so much color drain out of the other man's face at the sight of the simple item.

Trafalgar's eyes widened the faintest amount, his eyes riveted on the ring. He felt as if Doflamingo had wrapped sharp thorns around his heart and had squeezed it tightly and carelessly.

Wrong. It was wrong.

Trafalgar bit his lip harshly as he felt his eyes grow hot. For the first time in a long time, he almost felt like crying. And he never did, except on one rare occasion years and years ago. For some reason, the thought of losing Kidd for good was unbearable. And that thought brought up more that the dark haired man really wasn't quite ready to think about. Trafalgar tensed as Doflamingo ran a large hand through his hair, and tilted his head so that he was forced to look at the blond.

Trafalgar felt Doflamingo stick the ring in one of his pockets, and held back the tears that threatened to betray him. He wasn't going to give Doflamingo the satisfaction. But the more he thought of never seeing Kidd again, the more Trafalgar realized that it hurt him much, much more than he would have expected it to. And that was something he hadn't expected either, until he really thought about it. In that moment, the dark haired man felt all of his resistance and defiance against the other man shatter and fall to pieces, and, unable to meet Doflamingo's gaze, spoke, struggling to keep all emotion out of his words, "Just kill me. That's what you want, isn't it?"

Doflamingo hummed in thought, "...Eventually, but not when I've just gotten you back." Doflamingo ran his hand slowly through Trafalgar's hair again, "Besides, I do want to see the other Law. I just wanted to pay you back for what you did in the past."

The sting of the words made Trafalgar further discouraged. So, Doflamingo only wanted to torment him before being rid of him, and returning to the Law that was more inclined to be around him. Trafalgar felt further resigned. It just figured that he wouldn't be getting off so easily. Death, funnily enough, was preferable right now. It'd get him away from Doflamingo at any rate, and he'd perhaps get the chance to see Kidd again. But the dark haired man absolutely loathed the fact that he was going to have to be the older man's plaything in the meantime.

Doflamingo noticed all of the fight leave Trafalgar, and frowned. He hadn't realized that telling the doctor that he'd never be able to see Kidd again would have caused this kind of response. Doflamingo had never imagined that Trafalgar would have actually _cared_ for the red haired man that much. Doflamingo's grin returned full force. Well, that worked for him. He would just keep the fact that he hadn't actually killed Kidd to himself. It did annoy the blond that Kidd had managed to drag himself away and out of sight in such a short time, but Trafalgar's reaction had given Doflamingo a wonderful idea of how to deal with some of his other problems.

Doflamingo kept a firm grip on Trafalgar's head, and pulled him into a kiss, and this time there was no retaliation. As if Trafalgar were merely resigned to his advances now. Doflamingo drew back, able to make eye contact somewhat with the other man, "How about we make a little deal? I think you'll be interested."

The hot glare of unshed tears met Doflamingo's eyes, and the older man almost started tearing the other man's clothes off at the very sight. He'd never driven Trafalgar to such limits before. It was a rare and rather satisfying sight. Doflamingo held back the urge, his usual grin in place as he continued, "If you'll be my surgeon of death again for a short time, and do as I say, I'll give you something good in return..."

Doflamingo saw faint interest flicker briefly in the dark haired man's eyes, and his grin stretched further, "...another chance to kill me."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

A/N: Angst. I think? Eh, my eyes are still being annoying computer wise, but I'm having too much fun with this to leave this fic alone for too long.

And I finally bridged the gap between the storyline and the epilogue I have, so there's about 40, maybe more, of single page story summary to get through, before the epilogue. I have no idea how long it'll take to get there, but there are going to be some more lemons. I just don't know when, until I get to it. Because of story line shit and all to get through first. I'm actually excited over the epilogue already, but it's gonna be awhile before I get to it.


End file.
